The Dovahkiin's dance with destruction
by The Shy Scorpio
Summary: What happens when the Dovahkiin finds herself falling for the very architect of the world's destruction? The creature she was essentially born to kill or die to inspired alien feelings of desire within her. She didn't know why Alduin hated her so much, but she was starting to hate herself as well. What a foolish joor she was allowing herself to fall in love with her mortal enemy.
1. Escaping Helgen

**Going in you guys** **should know that unlike how she may have appeared in the description Quintessence is by no means timid or weak, Alduin's pressence just makes her appear or act that way.** **How she knows magic and is proficient in it will be elaborated upon later.**

 **I used to be an Imperial sympathizer but after many many years of playing vanilla Skyrim, over ten playthroughs, and exactly 1093 quick saves I sympathize with niether side over the other. Which side I pick usually depends on how I'm role playing the character and the characters motivations. While undoubtedly it feels like Quintessence is leaning towards the Stormcloaks anything that happens in my playthrough could change that although I doubt it given the atmosphere of the first chapter.**

 **To all who read this I really hope you will enjoy.**

 _Towers and dragons_

 **10K Words**

Quintessence woke up with a pounding headache causing her to swear internally as she opened her eyes and the light only proved to make it worse.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light she took notice of her position in a cart with three men all of whom had Nordic features.

All of the men were in binds and she looked down noticing her wrist were tightly bound as well, fortunately though they weren't magicka dampners which she thanked Stendar for. One of the men was gazing around fearfully, dressed in a dirty pair of prisoners rags same as herself while another had a blue very regal looking garb with a bear pelt over his shoulder.

He had a gag over his mouth and after one glance at the man she could tell he was a person of great status and perhaps even noble bearing.

His eyes held a silent fury that begged to be unleashed and another look Quintessence recognized all too well as the sting of faliure. His silver eyes held great dissapointment that could only steam from falling not only himself but someone else as well. Underneath all of the fury he stared forward with what was likely a great sadness.

He caught her eye for a moment and the two regarded each other curiously before she turned and looked at the last person she now found herself sharing bindings with.

This man wore the armor of a soldier although she didn't recognize it as any kind of Imperial armor, or the armor of any other soldiers she'd ever seen for that matter.

He stared ahead with the same sadness she'd seen in the other man in blue with. A resigned look on his face and in his demeanor before he noticed the woman's curious eyes and offered a friendly smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Finally awake huh? Looks like you got caught up in all this during that Imperial border raid. Shame the Imperials can't differentiate between a soldier and an average citzen these days, but I guess war changes people." The blonde said with a hint of bitterness touching his heavily Nordic accent.

Quintessence didn't reply and the man turned back towards the road figuring she wasn't the type for idle conversation, especially upon considering the situation she was in. Ge didn't think he'd be in any kind of mood for idle chatter in her position either.

"Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine before you came along. The empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now!" The man in rags said scowling towards the man who'd spoken to her a moment ago.

"You there, you and me don't belong here. It's these damn Stormcloaks the empire wants." He said with a voice full of scorn.

"No use in tossing the blame around now thief. We're all brothers in bindings now." The blonde soldier replied sparing the thief a glance that held a bit of sympathy.

Quintessence inwardly released a bitter laugh at the truth of man's statement before glaring at the back of the Imperial soldier driving their wagon who just told them to shut up.

"I've got nothing to do with you trators!" The man said scowling at the soldier before turning to face Quintessence.

The thief turned to observe the man in the noble garb who scowled upon noticing his stare.

"What's wrong with him huh?" He asked a bit taken aback by the hostile gaze.

"Watch your tongue! You have the honor of speaking with Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm and true High King of Skyrim!"

The thief's pale Northern skin went a shade or two paler at hearing who he was sharing a cart with.

"That's Ulfric Stormcloak, leader of the rebellion? That means..if you're here... God's where are they taking us!?!?"

"Surely not a med hall or somewhere with cozy beds, or Hammerfell either for that matter." Quintessence said wishing the thief would just shut up and let them ride in silence.

"I don't belong here, and niether do you! You've got to help me convince these guards we aren't with these rebels!" The man said visibly panicked.

"Please..these rebels seem like much better company than some cowardly thief who thought crime didn't come with punishment. If you were actually good at what you did you wouldn't have been caught anyway, and I'd think a smart man would save his words for prayer in a situation such as this." Quintessence remarked surprising everyone in the cart.

"Cowardice doesn't suite Nords and your disgracing your homeland right now so just be quiet." The woman said frowning at the man who was taken aback by her statement.

She turned away not wanting to look at him anymore and began to survey the guards around the cart wondering what her chances would be to escape if she used magic when a hearty laugh errupted from the blonde man who sat across from her.

"Very well said my friend! If you don't mind me asking what's your name?"

"Quintessence Septimus, but I go by Elder scroll."

"An Imperial?" The man asked raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all. I like to consider myself a Breton although my father is of Imperial heritage."

The soldier nodded before tilting his head and looking at her curiously another question on his lips.

"Why the surename Elder Scroll?" He asked elicting a smile from the woman.

"I'm always reading anything I can get my hands on and my father always told me I was powerful in a way others aren't. Plus those around me could never truly read me similar to an elder scroll." She answered wondering if he'd ask more questions.

If he didn't know what an elder scroll was he didn't ask. He turned back towards the front of the cart refocusing his attention on the road as Quintessence inwardly sighed wondering what the Imperials had in store for them and how she'd gotten in this situation anyway.

She just leaned back against the cart and prayed Stendar have mercy on her and her cart companions.

A few minutes later they pulled into a small town that looked as if it was built to serve as an Imperial garrison. One by one the prisoners began to pile off their carts and Quintessence noticed besides her and the thief all of the others wore Stormcloak armor.

She watched the men in front of her step forward one by one and nearly furrowed her brow when the would be horse thief attempted to escape and found himself on the killing end of some arrows after his attempts at begging for his life failed.

 _"How foolish."_ She thought feeling no pity for the man.

"Next."

She stepped forward looking at the Imperial soldier with a passive expression.

"So it says you were captured trying to cross the border from Cyrodile into Skyrim but who are you exactly?" The man asked raising an eyebrow.

"Quintessence Septimus, ethnicity Breton, age 24 and although I'm a Breton I was raised in different parts of Cryodile and High Rock my entire life so there isn't really any one place I could claim as my home." She said wanting to hurry up and get this over with.

"I see...captain, her name isn't on the list. What should we do with her?" The Nord asked turning to address an Imperial woman in heavy Imperial armor with the mark of a lower ranking officer engraved on the left shoulder.

The woman turned and observed her for a minute before her eyes developed a sadistic glint.

"Forget the list, she goes to the block."

"Oh what a charming dead Imperial you are, bitch." Quintessence thought promising herself she'd kill the woman before meeting her own death.

"As you command." The man said before turning to face the Breton with a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry prisoner but unfortunately you ended up getting yourself caught up in all th-"

"Save it." She replied as impassive and uncaring as ever.

Some of the Stormcloaks who were awaiting their execution were looking at the woman curiously wondering why she seemed uncaring she was about to die when her crime was one that didn't even come close to warranting an execution.

The man nodded asking her if she wanted her remains returned to High Rock or Cyrodile.

"Just bury them here for all I care it hardly matters where my lifeless corpse ends up." She replied surprising the man once again and earning the respect of a few of the Stormcloaks who were watching her curiously.

"Well tha-" Quintessence didn't give the man time to finish as she walked past him falling in line with the rest of the prisoners who were awaiting their execution.

 _"Stendar have mercy on my soul and the souls of the others who are deserving. Arkay please hold off on me I'm not ready to die yet. Akatosh please give me more time it's too early for me."_ She thought closing her eyes and willing her voice to be heard by the God's before opening them and praying to a being similar to the Aedra.

 _"Azura please guide me."_ She thought hoping that the mistress of twighlight would give her a sign or some sort of insight.

She used a small bit of sparks to cut her bindings grateful that no one noticed, still holding her hands behind her back and waiting for the right moment.

She hoped the divines wouldn't hold praying to a Daedra against her but the only one she ever prayed to was Azura anyway so why should it really matter.

A man in very regal looking Imperial armor stepped forward with a vicious scowl looking as if he wanted to spit in the face of the rebellions leader but was restraining himself.

"Ulfric Stormcloak... Some here in Helgen would call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war! Plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the empire is going to put you down, and restore the piece!" He said sneering at the man before turning away and addressing the priestist.

"You may give them their last right's." He said reclaiming his former spot as the prestist nodded and began doing just that. Not even a full minute into the rits she found herself being interrupted.

"For the love of Talos shut up and let's get this over with!" A red headed Stormcloak said stepping forward to scowl at the executioner then the rest of the assembly.

"As you wish." The Imperial captain Quintessence had her eye on said with a sneer as she moved behind the man and forced him down with her hand and then her foot.

 _"How degrading, this is the Empire my father fought for?"_ Quintessence thought with a scowl.

"My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials, can you say the same?" The man questioned showing no fear in the face of death.

Quintessence decided that she rather liked the Nord and it might as well be now or never.

She charged and invisiblity spell in one hand and a bolt of lightning in the other being sure to put enough magicka into it to drop the executioner on contact.

As he raised his axe and prepared to bring it down she brought her hand out from behind her back and fired the bolt at the man pushing him off his feet and effectively stopping his heart, casting her invisiblity spell in the same motion as she quickly moved and ducked behind the closest building getting under the cover of shade.

The Imperials were all slightly in a panic as to what just happened as one of them quickly put the pieces together and they fanned out and began searching the area.

Tulius considered stabbing his blade through Ulfric's heart on the spot but figured it was just one mage and she wouldn't be able to do much against an entire fort on her own.

Quintessence croached in the shade still shielded from detection by her invisiblity cloak but she knew it wouldn't last long.

She considered summoning two dremora but knew if she did they wouldn't last long against all the soldiers and it'd just drain her of the rest of her magicka leaving her only capable of a few more weak bolts of lightning.

The gears in her mind stopped turning momentarily when a loud roar that was completely alien yet somehow familiar rang throughout the valley churning something within her bones that she couldn't explain.

The Imperials temporarily paused in their search all looking around in wonder as to what the alien sound they'd just heard was.

 _"Damnit I wish I had some soul gems."_ Quintessence thought knowing she could escape on her own but for some reason she really didn't want to abandon the soldiers in blue armor who she felt for for whatever reason.

"Never mind the Breton, she's probably escaped by now. I need a replacement for the headsman asap... As matter of fact step forward Ulfric. I'll execute you myself before we have any more misfortunes today." The General said pulling his sword and approaching the man who shot him a murderous glare.

"Oh no you don't!" Quintessence said summoning two demora who charged the shocked Imperials easily cutting three of them down in their surprise.

 _"It's now or never!"_ She thought rushing forward surprising Ulfric as he felt and invisible set of hands working at his bindings which were quickly off.

She moved to assist the other soldiers but quickly found that she was too late as an arrow flew past her head by inches and she realized her dremora didn't last as long as she had hoped.

Ulfric had taken the gag off of his mouth prepared to shout all Imperials in sight to hell but also came to the realization it was too late when he noticed an entire squad of archers training their bows on him and his men from all directions.

He sighed and turned his head to address the woman he assumed had escaped the second she blasted the headsman and disappeared.

"That was very brave of you friend, but it seems the divines don't intend to smile upon us on this day."

She smiled grateful she at least tried but mad she hadn't gotten the Imperial captain who was now approaching her with her sword drawn, wearing a scowl that could spook a cave bear.

"Indeed it doesn't, although it was worth a try." She said holding up her hands in a gesture of admitted defeat.

"You bi-"

"Captain." The voice of Tulius rang stopping the woman in her tracks as she turned to look at her commander.

He walked forward to stand in front of Quintessence observing her coldly with a curious gaze.

"Who are you?" He demanded looking as if his curiousity was the only thing keeping him from killing the woman on the spot.

"Quintessence Septimus, although I like to go by Quintessence Elder Scroll. I'm likely one of the best mages in Skyrim at the moment but other than that I'm really no one of importance." She said answering the man and hoping he'd back out of her face.

"Why would you help Ulfric? You aren't even a Nord nor are you from these lands." The man asking practically spitting out his question as she smirked at the barely contained rage she saw in the Generals eyes.

"He and his men seem like honorable people. I don't know what this confrontation of yours is about and nor do I care, but at the moment I chose to attempt to save him and his men rather than looking out for my own hide."

Tulius nodding before looking to the captain. "As you were." He said giving the woman approval which caused her to grin wickedly as she back hand slapped Quintessence before punching her in the gut hard causing her to fall to her knee's as she held her stomach.

The woman sneered at her from above before kicking her in the side causing her to fully fall over before bending down and grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to look up.

"Bad move runt. I'm going to request your execution be delayed because of that little stunt. Just so I can teach you some r-"

The woman stopped mid sentence when the Breton spit on her face and smirked at her through the pain she felt.

"You're the one who should respect your betters bitch."

The woman's face contorted into a canvas full of unholy rage and she dropped the woman raising her foot before the General cleared his throat causing her to frown and back away returning to her former position.

"Since your gags been removed already, any last words before I send you to Sovengard or wherever the hell it is you Nords think you go after you die?" Tulius asked the rebellions leader with a look of utter contempt.

Ulfric moved to open his mouth but froze as a huge dark figure landed on the tower shaking the ground with the impact.

Tulius turned around looking up and his eyes went wide at the sight that beheld him. "What in Oblivion is that!?!?"

"Dragon!!!" The prestist shouted in shocked disbelief.

"Archers!!!" The captain commanded reacting quickly for someone who just came face to face with a long dead beast of legend and myth.

The dragon opened it's mouth and the next thing anyone knew all hell was let loose.

The sky seemingly shook and turned from a beautiful blue to a menacing red. The dragon shouted again and Quintessence was blown off of her feet but luckily their was a hay bale behind her and it hit the wall before she did softening the impact and landing over top of her as she fell back to the ground. For some reason she thought it best to stay hiden as the dragons shout had been meant to kill her specifically. She did that for a number of moments till the pile of hay started threatening to suffocate her and she stood and looked around seeing the entire fort had decended into chaos.

The sky rained meteors which scorched the ground and anything else they touched, shattering on impact and sending a number of smaller flaming pieces of rock flying in various directions.

She quickly stood up knowing she'd die if she stayed standing and rushed to the closest tower she saw making it inside only seconds after she'd started running but in her mind those few seconds seemed to have been many minutes during which her only thought was would she survive.

She breathed a sign of relief when the door was closed and looked around finally observing the other figures in the room.

"Jarl Ulfric, was that thing what I think it was... Could the legends be true!?"

"Legends don't burn down villages." The Jarl replied surprisingly calm given the situation they were in.

"We need to move now! Up through the tower, let's go!" Ralof yelled already rushing up the stairs as Quintessence struggled to escape the sinking feeling she had that the huge black dragon was out to get her for whatever reason.

Knowing she had no choice but to sink or swim she rushed up the stairs behind Ralof figuring the soldier might just be her greatest chance for survival right now.

The two made their way further up the tower reaching a landing where a soldier was attempting to clear a number of rocks in the path. Quintessence got a bad feeling in her stomach and shoved Ralof back hoping he wouldn't fall down the steps.

"Move soldier!" She said holding out her hands and pooling her magica into a telekenesis spell.

She pulled the soldier clearing the rocks towards her and not a second later the wall behind where he'd been was blown out of the tower and the black dragon stuck it's head through, his angry fiery red eyes meeting her panicked golden yellow.

" **Rotmindol Dovahkiin drey hin eylok uhn lorot nistmaar vos viik Rah!** _Puny Dragonborn did your kind really think themselves capable of defeating a God!_ " The Dragon shouted gazing at Quintessence with a hate she couldn't understand.

" **Yol Tor Suul!** " The creature shouted towards her and she quickly leapt out of the way pushing the soldier who was with her and falling back down the tower steps but being caught by Ralof before she could sustain much damage.

"You all right Elder Scroll?!"

"Yeah.. I think I'll be just fine." Quintessence lied getting to her feet and feeling like she wanted to throw up.

She didn't know what was going on but something was making her feel sick. Like she really wanted to throw up or just go lie down.

"Come on, we've still got to get out of here!" Ralof said moving back up the tower steps.

Quintessence nodded weakly knowing he wouldn't see it and followed behind him. They reached the hole on the side of the tower seeing the pathway to go further up the stairs being blocked. She looked out of the hole inside the tower and then towards the flaming Inn knowing she had no choice.

Her and Ralof nodded to each other and both jumped at the same time crashing through the roof of the inn.

Quintessence looked up and noticed she landed on the top floor but Ralof was nowhere in sight although there was clearly a second hole in the roof. She covered her mouth attempting to slow the speed of her smoke inhalation, taking one last look around and hoping to see Ralof but cursing as she couldn't find him. Deciding she couldn't worry to much for the Nordic man's safety in place of her own she rushed towards a hole in the floor, dropping down to the first floor and running through a gaping hole in the wall.

She began to run towards the next building that looked like it'd provide moderate cover but stopped when she felt a pair of hateful eyes boring into her skin from the skys above.

" **Druv los hi tul nahlaas Dovahkiin? Druv dreh hi ni brah hin thuum wah bild balnu joor wo dreh ni fon wah dahmaan luft do niist Ulokuun? Hi fen ag asamit reid niin!** _Why are you still alive Dragonborn? Why do you not use your thuum to defend these worthless mortals who do not seem to remember face of their Emperor? You will burn along side them!_ "

"Hemming get over here!" A soldier called out to a boy standing over his father who was pinned by a large wooden plank.

The man shoved his son away as the dragon landed and incinerated him and attempted to catch Quintessence in the inferno as well but missed her slightly thanks to a firebolt which glanced harmlessly off his flesh but seemed to do a fine job of irritating him.

" **Hi joor fen biis deerly fah hin duziirah.** _You mortals will pay deerly for your insolence._ " The Dragon said taking to the skies again and scorching the immediate area around where he'd just been, snatching mages and archers from the bridges where they uselessly launched attacks at him.

"Good to see you're alive prisoner. Stick with me if you want to stay that way." The soldier who'd written down her information earlier remarked before moving past her heading towards another area of the fort.

Were she in her right state of mind the woman would have frowned at being called prisoner, especially considering this man knew her name, but as she was now she simply took heed of his advice hoping more than anything he could lead her somewhere where that black Dragon wouldn't be able to follow them.

The two reached a low wall the man yelled commanding her to stick close to and a feeling of dread ran through her entire being as the black Dragons wings pressed against the wall and he looked over top of it sniffing the air as if looking for something or someone specific.

" **Vir sahlag tol aanwo wo piraan faan do dreh fund ru nol grah. Zu'u vis sahlon hi Dovahkiin, hin faas los grotiin ko su ahrk hi nis filok dii nah!** _How pathetic that someone who claims the name of dov would run from battle. I can smell you Dragonborn, your fear is heavy in the air and you cannot escape my fury!_ " The dragon yelled unleashing another barrage of flame and burning an Imperial man who'd been desperately picking through the remains of his home attempting to find something.

Quintessence no longer thought, she knew that the dragon was leveling insults at her. She wondered why he seemed so upset and why it acted as if it knew her personally. Did her father have something to do with this or what her panick just making her delusional?

"Quickly follow me!" The soldier called moving away from the wall after the dragon took back to the skies.

The two rushed through the burning remains of a house and made there way over to a group of Imperial archers and mages who were attempting to do harm to the dragon but only succeeded in drawing out more anger from the creature.

"To the keep soldiers, we're leaving!" A man called in a commanding voice.

"With me prisoner, we're getting out of here!" The Imperial soldier called moving towards the keep.

She cleared her mind for a moment and followed deciding she'd kill this guy when they were alone and find a way out by herself if she could.

The dragon swooped over head scorching the land and causing great panick to swell inside of her again but luckily didn't notice her as he continued his assualt on the town.

She continued on with the Imperial man feeling a bit of relief swell in her chest when she saw a familiar blonde haired blue clad soldier running across the courtyard. The two men stopped to observe each other for a moment both of them fixing the other with hard glares.

"Ralof you damned traitor, out of my way!"

"We're escaping Halfar, you're not stopping us this time!" The Stormcloak soldier said in a manner that threatened the man to try stopping him.

"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovengard! You come on, into the keep!" The Imperial commanded rushing past the rebel soldier and towards another end of the courtyard not even checking to see if she followed.

"Hurry, let's get inside, come on!" Ralof called already standing in front of the building and holding the door open for her.

Quintessence had already known before hand which of the men she'd rather run from a dragon with and she choose her fellow prisoner rushing past him and into the keep.

She stepped inside the main room awaiting them when they entered and breathed a sigh of relief feeling her usual state of mind kicking in as the door closed behind them and she felt shut off and secure, away from the dragon that so feverently sought her doom.

Ralof quickly rushed to a dead Stormcloak who lay inside the room and felt for a pulse shaking his head and looking down sadly as Quintessence felt pity for the man. She couldn't think of many things worse than watching your comrades or your loved ones die. Hopefully it was a pain she would never have to feel personally.

"We'll meet again in Sovengard brother." Ralof said after saying a short prayer for his friend.

"Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing is a dragon no doubt. Just like the childrens stories and the Legends. The harbringers of the end times."

Just then a loud roar was heard outside causing Ralof to look up as the keep shook slightly and Quintessence involuntarily shivered wondering why the creature seemed so enraged. It was plain as day inside it's roars. She heard an anger the likes of which would draw the attention of the Gods themselves, and below that she heard a pain that she didn't quite understand but found herself oddly wishing she did.

She frowned and quickly shook the thoughts out of her head wondering why the hell she was thinking and behaving so differently from how she would usually. She needed to get the hell away from that dragon outside that much was certain.

"We better get moving, that things still outside and we don't know how many Imperials may be in here with us. You'd may as well take Gunjar's gear. He won't be needing it anymore." The man said as his voice grew solemn.

Quintessence frowned and decided she'd rather not steal from the dead. Especially if the man had lived an honorable life in his time on Nirn.

"Help me move his body to the center of the room, come on we don't have much time." Quintessence said holding a hand up to silence Ralof when he was about to ask question what she was asking.

"Please, just help me with this." She said seriously.

Ralof looked at her in confusion for a moment but nodded and grabbed Gunjar's arms helping to move him to the middle of the floor.

Quintessence took the ale filled tankards from the table and began pouring them on the Nords corpse causing Ralof's eyes to widen as he drew and axe looking at her with a murderous glare seeing as she'd just disrespected his fallen comrade. The woman paused for a moment looking at him questioningly before continuing to poor the rest of the ale over the man's body figuring if Ralof was going to kill her for it he likely already would have done so.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ralof commanded wanting to kill the woman for her disrespect of Gunjar's corpse but feeling as if she had to have her reasons considering she appeared to be a good person if first impressions were anything to go off of.

"Giving this man something of a burriel." She said creating a small flame with her finger and sparking the trail of ale on the man's body at his boots.

The fire started spreading from the man's feet further up his body. The two stood and watched for a moment but Quintessence eventually moved away leaving Ralof standing there and watching his friend burn till the flames encompassed him fully and caused Ralof to finally look away as the stench of burning flesh made his stomach clench and he couldn't help the tears that made it's way into his eye.

"Thank you friend. I'm sure Gunjar would have appreciated that." He said turning to the now calm looking Breton who was sitting on the floor in front of one of the two gates in the room with her legs crossed.

"It was the least I could do. Thank you for allowing me to give him something of a funeral prye. It's too bad we couldn't have done any better." She said turning to gaze at the burning corpse of the man as Ralof nodded in agreement with her.

"It's still better th-"

"I hear voices coming through this gate getting closer. We need to hide." She whispered standing and leaning against the wall of the right side of the gate.

Ralof nodded and quickly did the same pulling out his axe as Quintessence thanked the God's for her deep magicka pool and summonded a thunderbolt knowing she'd only have one shot and hoped it would count.

"Come on soldier keep moving!"

Quintessence smirked wickedly as she realized she'd first heard that voice today merly a number of minutes ago but she recognized it well.

"Get this gate open!" The woman commanded sounding just as arrogant and full of herself as she had before.

The woman began laughing menacely inside her head as she allowed the thunder bolt in her hand to weaken slightly.

The gate came open and before she'd even had the chance to walk into the room the Imperial captain was blasted backwards through the corridor she'd been standing in as a bolt of thunder slammed into her chest with a powerful boom that shook the walls around her.

The other Imperial soldier turned to look at his captain, an expression of shock plain on his face. Ralof didn't even hesitate to cut the foolish man down. If you couldn't even keep your eye on the closest threat you had no business being a soldier in anyone's army anyway.

Quintessence walked down the dimly lit corridor stopping in front of the now coughing Imperial woman who was laying on her stomach weezing and shaking slightly.

"Remember me bitch?" Quintessence called to the woman grabbing her Imperial helmet and pulling it off of her head before kicking the woman with her foot and turning her over.

"You were oh so eager to send me to the block and inflict pain upon me weren't you, but now I'm the one in the position of seniority. Oh how the tables have turned!"

The woman's eyes were fearful as she attempted to respond but found couldn't due to the strong blast of electricity that tore through her armor and damaged both her lungs. She could only continue drawing shallow breaths of air and gritting her teeth at the pain that was coming from the burning hole in the front of her armor cooking through the flesh over top of her chest.

"Look at you now, so pathetic. Let this incident serve as a reminder that being in a position of power makes you no better than anyone else at the end of the day. I can do literally anything I want to you right now, torture would be equally as cruel as letting you sit there and weeze to death while that armor I know you love so much burns a hole through your chest." Quintessence said smiling evilly at the fearful woman who really hoped the woman would kill her rather than leave her here to suffer till she could no longer breath.

"Alas though dear crone. I am not without mercy, and fortunately for you, and unlike you I do posses something of a conscience." Quintessence said stooping down and removing the woman's armor straps causing her fear to rise as she wondered what exactly the Breton woman was going to do to her when she got her out of her clothes.

Removing her armor was only necessary in the case of torture or rape and the wicked smile on the woman's face was only causing the Imperial captain stomach to churn further at the thought that nothing good could come from this.

"Two magica potions!" The Breton squeeled looking like she'd just struck gold. She uncorked the cap on one and downed the glowing blue liquid in one motion grinning ear to ear after tossing the bottle to the side.

"I don't mean to rush you Elder Scroll but we do need to be making our way out of here." Ralof said wondering if the Breton really did intend to torture the woman. He wouldn't stop her but he'd have no part in it either.

"Sorry Ralof, I'll try to hurry this up." She said raising her hand over the woman's chest having finally gotten the armor off.

The captain closed her eyes expecting to be burned alive or electrocuted but opened them wide when she felt the familiar warmth of healing magic coursing through her body repairing the damage to her lungs and healing the burning flesh over her chest.

She looked at the woman sitting above her completely puzzled and attempted to move her legs but found slamming against the wall had likely broken her spine and much to her horror she couldn't even move her arms.

The Breton woman stood up smiling at her wickedly as if she knew some sort of secret that'd just break the woman completely.

"So you healed me only to leave me here in my broken state so that I might starve to death!" The Imperial captain shouted close to tears as she began wishing the woman would've just killed her or left her to suffocate eventually.

No death she could think of was a worse one than dying from starvation. She'd been nearly starved before during the hardest times of her life before she became an Imperial captain.

"Oh heavens no, nothing so sinister. I do believe in Stendar after all. I've got something else in store for you." Quintessence said pooling some more magicka into her left hand and summoning a dremora next to the woman.

"Carry her." She commanded the creature moving back into the other room with Ralof and nodding she was ready to go.

The captain felt another powerful surge of fear in her chest as the creature picked her up and started walking after it's master and the Stormcloak soldier. What exactly was this woman planning to do with her?

They reached the bottom of a set of stairs leading towards another part of the keep and the entire building shook and some stone blocks holding the building together feel out of place blocking off the path in front of them.

"Damn..that dragon doesn't give up easily."

Quintessence swallowed her nervousness wondering why she became so frightened when she heard the dragons roar. It was throwing her off her game and while most of her was upset about it a small part of herself was telling her there had to be a reason behind it. She and that dragon outside were connected somehow. The thought of death didn't even scare her as much as the thought of that creature did and that unnerved her to no end.

"Quick grab everything you can take and let's go!" A gruff voice sounded from somewhere inside the room they stood outside.

The Imperial captain felt a surge of relief fill her heart at knowing her comrades we're so close but it quickly faded when she registered the fact that she was currently incapable of battle or even escaping with them if they managed to overpower her captors. Unable to even limp let alone walk she knew the men and women who wore the same colors as she did would only apologise before abandoning her to save their own hides, which she couldn't blame them for as she'd do the same thing if one of her superiors were incapable of even the slightest movement in this situation.

Especially considering she'd never been kind to those of a lower rank than her. She'd often looked down held her nose up and even talked down to most of them thinking herself to be their better. Oh how the Breton was right about her position of authority meaning nothing in the end. She couldn't help the tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall as her captors summon laid her down and unsheathed the large blade on it's back. The three rushed into the room and she heard the sounds of battle before all went silent a few short moments later.

For what seemed to be a long time that felt like an eternity she heard nothing and she let the water pooling behind her eyes fall feeling as if she'd been abandoned like the dead weight she was. Left to starve to death or perish if the dragons assault caused the keep to collapse.

She looked up hearing footsteps heading her way and felt a strange sense of relief when the creature that had been carrying her before lifted her into it's arms and walked back into the room over the corpse's of two dead Imperial soldiers and to the door at the end where the Breton stood with the Stormcloak.

They both smirked at the woman's tears and turned heading through the doorway not even sparing her a word to ask what she'd been crying about which she was actually grateful for. She found that she hardly even cared about them seeing her cry. She was just grateful she wasn't being left to die, that was a fate that really terrified her to no end.

She couldn't believe her luck or how her day had ended up turning out. She heard the soldier yell something about a torture room but paid his words no mind as she knew what he was talking about.

The dremora went to sit her down again but her master commanded he keep her as she was and he nodded and just stood there as the captain watched the woman and the soldier assist two other Stormcloaks in killing the torturer and his assistant.

"Have you seen Jarl Ulfric?" Ralof asked the woman who's life Quintessence had saved with a well timed bolt of chain lightning.

"No. I haven't seen him since the dragon attacked."

"Damn... Guess we'll have to meet up with him when this is over." Ralof replied to the woman moving to one of the cages and stating it wasn't empty. There looked to be a few things on the floor.

"You said you were always reading right? Maybe you could get that gate open and take that book for later. Looks like there's a magicka potion in there too, I know you could use that." Ralof commented looking to Quintessence who really had her eye on the novice mage robes the man wore.

"Quickly, grab whatever you can and let's go."

She went into the torturers work station in search of a key and found none but saw a few lock picks and two books, A Brief history on the Empire volume one and two. She picked up the lock picks and moved to the cage quickly breaking the pathetically easily lock and opening the cage.

She quickly stripped the man out of his robes grateful that he was freshly dead and had likely died at the hands of a zap spell or possibly starvation as the robes were in perfect condition and lacked any smell of death.

She quickly discarded her prisoners rags and changed into the robs uncaring of who was watching as now wasn't really the time for any kind of modesty or shame. She picked up the sparks spell book on the ground and placed it inside the empty travelers satchel the dead man had fortunately been carrying. She picked up a magicka potion and the four septums that'd been laying next to the man before moving back to the torturers office and grabbing the books on the history of Empire which she was well versed in thanks to her father, but it never hurt to study up.

She grinned upon noticing the man had two magicka potions in his robes and moved towards Ralof and the other two Stormcloaks stopping when she saw a satchel with a dagger and a book in front of it sitting on a small tabel. She went inside the satchel and took the four lock picks and the healing potion inside before picking the book she didn't recognize up off the table and reading the white words on the cover.

'The Book of the Dragonborn' Wasn't that what that black dragon had called her, Dragonborn or Dovahkiin? Something along those lines. Quintessence placed the book inside of her robe figuring it could possibly hold some of the answers she was looking for, or if not would at least provide her with an interesting read.

She rushed after Ralof and the others beckoning her dremora follow and meant them inside what looked to be another torture room another hallway ahead. She frowned at the Imperials who claimed to belong to a benevolent government but committed such crude acts of volience against their own people. She failed to understand her father's love for the Empire. Maybe because he'd been a soldier or maybe because he was a noble, the answer as to why escaped her mind.

In the end of the room was a large hole inside the wall that lead to what looked to be a large carven inside the keep. Ralof nodded seeing she was ready and started moving through the tunnel followed by his fellow soldiers. Quintessence quickly followed behind them wondering why the captain wasn't shouting at them to release her or why she wasn't slinging the insults Quintessence expected to hear left and right at the woman and her companions.

Uncaring about the answer she continued following the others till they slowed down hearing a voice coming from somewhere ahead of them inside the tunnel. The first voice she didn't hear well thanks to the sound of her movement mixed with that of the soldiers with her but she heard the second voice clearly shouting about not waiting to be killed by some dragon and escaping while they could.

Ralof and his fellow soldiers didn't even hesitate to storm the room and raise their blades at the Imperials igniting a battle they had a distinct disadvantage in considering the Imperials had three melee fighters and two archers on their side.

Quintessence summonded a flame atronach and pointed to the archers, the atronach taking the qeue quickly started blasting fire balls at the men before they even had the chance to load their bows.

She grabbed the sword of the first Imperial who'd quickly been slain by Ralof and the others upon entering the room and sprinted towards the archers who were luckily focusing their arrows on her atronach just as she had hoped for. She saw some kind of gasious fluid on the for and quickly blasted it with a flame spell shielding her eyes as that entire section of the floor caught fire instantly roasting the Imperials. She turned ready to assist the others but saw Ralof pulling his axe out of the last Imperials skull taking a short moment to wash the blood away in the stream before moving towards Quintessence and surverying the burning Imperial bodies in the slowly dying flames.

"Nice work Elder Scroll."

The Breton shrugged at his comment unsure if she should be proud of killing soldiers in a fight that wasn't hers but accepting the praise anyway.

"Let's go on ahead, see if the way is clear." Ralof said looking towards the tunnel behind them.

"We'll keep watch, see if Ulfric comes through here. Talos guide you both." The woman remarked as her and the man she was with moved back towards the rooms entrance.

"No, you two are only endangering yourself staying here as you are. You're both sporting injures from earlier battle's and niether of you know when this entire buildings gonna collapse and come down on top of all of us, we need to stick together or we'll die."

The man and the woman exchanged a glance before looking at Quintessence and nodding as they made their way back towards her and Ralof and the ground proceeded through the tunnel.

Quintessence banished her flame atronach and summonded another dremora who took the Imperial captain off the first ones hands as he didn't have much longer in this world. The four of them continued on their way hearing a loud crash and turning around to see the rocks in the room and tunnel behind them come down in an avalanche and effectively block their way back off should they need one.

The group all spared a moment to look at one another as the same thought crossed each of their minds but no one said anything. Quintessence had likely just saved the two soldiers lives.

"Come on, we've got to push on." Ralof said running forward and not waiting for them to follow.

They got a bit further inside the cave and saw another exit that'd likely been blocked off by falling rocks.

"Guess we'd better check this way." Ralof said turning and heading towards the right.

After walking in that direction for a moment the group came across a large carvan inside the cave with spider webs everywhere.

Quintessence told her dremora which was no longer carrying the woman to walk in first and three small frostbite spiders jumped from a corner of the cave as two big ones fell from the celling. The group made short work of the creatures and Ralof shuttered towards the end as they walked through and cave pass into another carvan inside the large cave.

"You alright Ralof?" The male soldier asked his comrade.

"Yeah, I just hate those damned things...too many eyes."

The rest of the group save the captain nodded their heads in agreement knowing what he meant. They walked further into the chamber till Ralof stopped and held a hand out.

"Hold up, there's a bear up ahead, see her? I'd rather not tangle with her right now let's try to sneak by, just take it nice and slow and watch where you step. Or if you're feeling lucky you can take this bow, might take her by surprise, go ahead I'll follow you lead and watch your back." The man said offering Quintessence a bow.

She smirked and charged two bolts of chain lightning into one with both her hands and blasted the bear awake.

"Kill." She commanded her soon to be gone dremora who unsheathed it's sword and finished the cave bear in a manner of seconds before finally disappearing as it's time ran out.

"Well I'll be damned, well done." Ralof said with a grin as he stood and the four made their way past the cave bear all breathing a sigh of relief when they rounded a corner and saw an opening in the stone that looked to be an exit.

"I knew we'd make it!" An excited Ralof shouted as the group picked up their pace towards the exit.

The captain didn't know whether she should feel relieved or afraid as once in the wild and away from immediate danger or any other Imperials, she'd be at the full mercy of whatever it was the Breton woman had planned for her.

The cool Skyrim air that Quintessence couldn't yet say she'd grown used to had never felt so good entering the lungs. They we're free from their captors, they survived the dragons assualt on the keep, and they were once again free to follow the paths they'd undertaken for themselves. Quintessence could recall few moments that felt as good as this one in her life and it was likely the same for the soldiers she stood at the exit of the cave with.

One of them took a step forward only to be pushed back by Ralof.

"Wait, hurry up get down!"

The group all quickly followed the blonde man's orders hiding under the cover of a large rock that provided them shade.

The sky or the ground or possibly even both of them shook as the dragon that'd likely burned the Imperial fort to the ground passed over head and let out a roar that was no longer angry but sounded more like a roar of freedom, a declaration of it's existence, a cheerful shout of barely contained glee Quintessence felt pull on something inside of her, time seemed to slow down as she watched it.

She took notice of how it was gliding without a single flap of it wings, head straight forward as it seemed to stare directly ahead to a place she'd never be able to see or guess at from where she stood crouched behind a rock, it seemed proud noble, and possibly even divine as it's scales shone in the sun light giving it an other worldly glow. She didn't even feel it as her mind began to wander for a moment, the creature was powerful and for some reason sought her death but she could not deny it was positively stunning to look upon as it's wings carried it across the sky and into the distance where it disappeared over the horizon.

Quintessence was relieved that the creature was finally no longer a threat to her well being but a part of her was a little saddened at it's absence and she found herself inexplicably drawn to it which scared the woman as she had no idea why.

"There it goes, look it's gone for good this time." Ralof said standing up and sighing in relief.

"He." Quintessence couldn't help herself from correcting inside of her head.

She wondered how she even knew the dragons gender. She knew it wasn't a wild guess she was one hundred percent certainty the creature was male.

"No way of knowing if we're the only ones who made it out. This place is going to be swarming with Imperials soon enough, we'd better clear out of here." Ralof said as he started walking down the hill in front of them.

"My sister Gerdur owns a mill in Riverwood just up the road, I'm sure she can help us out." Ralof said talking to his other Stormcloak buddies before turning to look at Quintessence.

"I'm sure she'd be willing to lend you a hand too of you stopped by but for now it's best we split up, wouldn't want you getting involved in our fight a second time in one day now. Good luck, I wouldn't have made it without your help today... You know, you should go to Windhelm and join the fight to free Skyrim. You've seen the true face of the Empire here today and our cause could use more soldiers like you. If anyone will know what the coming of the dragon means it's Ulfric."

The last sentence peeked the woman's interest as she fought between the strong desire to know more about that dragon and the desire to try to forget everything that'd happened today.

"I appreciate the offer friend but sadly your cause isn't my own."

Ralof nodded figuring she'd say something like that, but it was worth the try either way.

"Well then this is we're our paths divide. Safe travels on your journey friend, and may Talos guide you."

"Same to you and your companions Ralof, may Talos give strength to your cause."

The man gave her a friendly smile and a nod before turning and running down the road eager to reach Riverwood as soon as possible.

Quintessence looked at the dremora behind her which was still holding the captain and sighed wondering exactly what would be her next move.

 **I'm basing Quintessence entirely off of my first play through, same personality same abilities, ect. Unlike most of my other characters Quintessence is a scholar at heart who's always acting off of reason. Although she worships Kynereath and Arkay above all others she definitely can get a little sociopathic sometimes as you'll see later in the story, she's also a powerful necromancer who has no qualms at all about exploting the dead even though she holds Arkay in a higher respect than most other God's.**

 **Her morals are naturally good although they can be very questionable at times, what she wants is what she wants and if you stand in her way she'll kill you for it and tell your corpse you were foolish.**

 **Alduin throws her off of her game which we'll see more of in the story. Her back story is also a very unique one that will be revealed in bits and pieces.**


	2. Unbound-Part 1

**T** **his chapter might possibly make you more curious as to Quintessa's backstory.** **We'll get their eventually just be patient, I'm sure the story will get better as it goes along.** **Also sorry about the short chapter I hate them this short but we're just getting into the story so they'll be a few short chapters till we get further in.**

 _Questions_ _and answers_

 **3K Words**

Quintessence sniffed the air relying on her heightened sense of smell to give her a good idea of which direction they would take.

She smelled small traces of hot metal, fire wood and people on the wind. No doubt coming from the Town of Riverwood Ralof had told her about.

Closer to their location she smelt the unwashed flesh of an Orc and decided she might as well head in that direction and see if there was a bandit camp or something she could hold up in until she got her bearings.

On their down the road they came across three intricately carved stones the captain reffered to as the guardian stones claiming each one gave a specific blessing that would help an individual to better prosper in whichever aspect it was they so choosed.

After examining all three of them Quintessence took a moment to consider both the mage and the thief stone before settling on the mage figuring her stealth skills weren't in need of any work but there was always more to learn when magic was concerned.

She was surprised when her finger glided over the stone and she felt the hum of ancient magic at work beneath her fingertips.

Ancient magic and dragons on her first day in the mysterious land of frost. No wonder her father had sent her here.

She continued down the road for about twenty minutes or so, stopping to admire the beauty of her surroundings. The beauty of the greenery and the flowers around her, as well as the sparkle of the river she knew would lead her to Riverwood if she was to follow it down stream. Even the mountain peeks in the distance had a certain charm that couldn't be ignored. Skyrim was just as beautiful as the impression the books had given when detailing the land and some of it's wonders.

Soon after walking a bit further she saw a path along the first one that split off and went further up into the woods where she could smell the orcs stench wafting down the hill.

This was one of those times when being a vampire was something of a double edged sword. While her enhanced sense of smell definitely could be useful at times for finding things of interest and gaining an awareness of her surroundings, she hated being around bandits and even some towns people because she could instantly tell who hardly washed and who hardly wiped.

Talking to people with bad breath was definitely the worst and if she happened to run into that man General Tulius again she'd be sure to tell him grounded blue mountain flowers and juniper berries were great for curring bad breath.

She turned taking the path on the right and walking to the top of the hill unsurprised that her nose hadn't lied to her.

"Well well well..what do we have here. You lost or something girl?" The Orc called upon noticing her.

Quintessence ignored him and walked forward not really registering him as much of a threat.

"Hey! That's far enough! If I were you I'd turn around and head back whenever it is you came from before you get yourself hurt." The Orc threatened pulling out a steel war axe showing he was serious.

Quintessence smiled at the Osmer turning on her vampiric charm wanting to save herself the magicka she'd need to kill the man.

"What is this place?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice, wishing she had the magicka to spare so she could just kill the smelly Osmer.

She knew she had the man when his eyes flashed and his expression changed from a threatening snarl and became one of pure admiration and desire.

"I..it's a mine my lady, Embershard mine." The man said getting down on one knee and bowing his head.

"Are there others inside?" She asked hoping not as it already smelled bad enough outside.

"Yes ma'am, eight of us. We use this mine as a staging ground fo-"

"I didn't ask you all that." Quintessence interrupted wondering how best to go about this situation.

"Apologies my lady." The Orc said causing Quintessence to sigh.

Now she remembered why she never used this vampiric ability. It made things far too easy. If she wanted mindless slaves she could always just have killed the man and reanimated his corpse, although she did have to admit the information on the other bandits was good.

"Okay Osmer, what's your name?" She asked looking at the man curiously.

"I go by chopper among the others ma'am." He answered immediately still in a bow.

 _"How crude."_

"Well then...chopper, I'd like you to guard this woman for me till I return." Quintessence said pointing to the Imperial captain who's curious expression quickly became very fearful.

"You can't just leave me here with this filthy savage, surely your spell will wear off eventually!" The captain yelled attempting to move her limbs but to no avail.

"It's not a spell captain, it's a charm, and it doesn't wear off. Maybe for weaker vampires but not one such as I." The woman said opening the door to the mine and taking a look inside.

"You are to ensure no harm comes to her in my absence chopper, am I clear?"

The Osmer nodded his head agreeing whole hardly to follow the woman's command.

"Good...you, come with me." She commanded of her dremora which nodded it's head and handed the terrified captain off to the Osmer before disappearing inside the mine behind the woman.

The Breton woman creeped through the shadows of the cave snatching down and putting out torches as she went going off of the first rule of stealth and sneaking, the more darkness the better.

Coming upon a dimly lit area of the cave she saw two men talking with each other and nearly lost her lunch upon realization that one of the two Nords smelled even worse then the Orc outside.

A couple seconds into the abandoned mine and she found she already hated everyone inside. "Kill them." The she commanded her dremora which unsheathed it's sword and ran forward with a wicked smile.

"I.. smell.. weakness!"

"What in obliv-"

The bandit found his sentence being cut short when a weak bolt of lightning jumped from the shadows slamming into his chest and pushing him back a few feet.

"Aaggghh!" He heard the voice of his friend yell out in pain as he heard a gut churning sound remenicent of a sword piercing flesh and shattering through bone as it did so.

He smelled blood and burning flesh but his head swam from the lightning blast that'd smashed into him a moment ago. He could hardly see but if that pained scream was anything to go off of his friend was either dead or dying. He felt fear the likes of which he'd never felt before and attempted to run towards the wooden ramp he knew would lead him away from whatever the thing that'd just slain his buddy in under a second was.

He felt his foot touch the ramp but not a second later he was pushed back down by a foot hitting him square in the face. He rubbed his eyes and looked up towards the wooden ramp as his vision cleared slightly, just enough for him to notice the dark siloute of a woman standing with her arms crossed.

Even in the dark he could see the white gleem of her teeth pulled back in a smile. The entirety of the top of her face was covered purely in shadow but he could see her eyes glowing a menacing red like some demon straight out of his nightmares.

He heard the sound of a blade being pulled from flesh and didn't even turn around knowing the creature was approaching him and he'd soon share the same fate as his friend.

"P-PLEASE, spare me!"

The woman laughed lightly and opened her mouth, he heard a voice rumble from behind him as her lips started moving and the two creatures of his destruction spoke the same words at the same time.

 _"No one escapes."_

The man hardly had anytime to plead for his life any further as the dremora's blade came down and relieved him of his head.

"May Arkay bless your souls." The woman said wishing the best for the men in the afterlife.

It's not that she'd necessarily wanted to kill them, she'd just done what needed to be done and that was that. Well okay, maybe she HAD wanted to kill them, but if the fools couldn't spare the time out of the day to properly bathe themselves she was doing the world a favor by taking them out of it.

She turned and continued back up the ramp. Her dremora let out something of a death shout as it was forcefully pulled back into Oblivion as the time on the contract ran out.

She walked into a room near the back of the mine and pulled a lever lowering the draw bridge over the indoor spring bubbling up from the cracks of the cave floor. She heard murmers of surprise coming from across the bridge and walked out of the room and ducked low hiding inside the shadows and waiting for her chance.

It didn't take long as two more Nordic men came across the bridge and foolishly decided to split up to search the darkened corner of the mine.

A red headed Nordic male passed the woman completely unaware of her presence inside the shadows of the cave wall and didn't have the chance to shout when the cold steel of a dagger pressed against his throat. In the next second the life of the man was gone as his body dropped and hit the floor.

The man further towards the entrance of the mine gave no indication of hearing his friends body fall and Quintessence slowly walked towards him smiling wickedly as she stopped a few feet away from him and he froze.

"Who's there!" The man demanded as he started to smell of fear.

He looked into the dark shadows of the cave in front of him and saw the siloute of a slightly tall and lilith figure he knew to be none of the men charged with guarding this section of the mine. He no longer heard the footsteps of his companion further down and that set him on edge.

More than anything though the figure in front of him although completely covered in shadow gave off an aura of death and an air of confidence. It's eyes were the only thing truly visible, two golden orbs seemingly flooded with red stared into the man's own ocean blue piercing directly into his soul.

He gripped his mace tighter in hand wanting more than anything to bludgeon the creature to death but found he'd been seemingly paralyzed and he could no longer move or speak.

The creature raised it's hand and his heart started beating with such intensity he thought it might burst from his chest at any moment. A part of him wished it would. This fear..this pressure, it was too much.

A small flame lit in the things hand and it raised it higher illuminating it's face and reliving a startlingly beautiful woman who smiled at him.

The man felt his heart slow down and pick up again falling to the ground as the paralysis was seemingly lifted.

"My lady, please tell me what it is you desire."

Quintessence let the flame fade and smiled in the darkness coming to the conclusion that this was going to be far easier than she'd originally thought.

"I want you to travel further into this mine and kill the first of your friends you come across. Do it discreetly if you can. It would please me a great deal if you were able to kill all of them."

"It will be done ma'am." The man said with finality standing and heading further inside the mine to carry out the woman's instructions with her following never far behind, watching and observing from the shadows.

Outside the mine the captain sat against a tree the Orc had leaned her against. She kept steeling fearful glances at the man as thoughts of the Breton never returning and her enchantment on the Orc man wearing off.

She said it never wore off and would that be the case even in death? If the woman died would she be stuck being cared for by some smelly Orc for the rest of her life? Why was the woman still carrying her around like some access baggage? Why didn't she just torture or kill her and get it over with already?

She cursed herself at the swell of relief she felt upon seeing the woman exiting the mine.

"Lift her up and follow me." She commanded walking back inside the mine not even bothering to see if the Orc had complied with the order.

The Orc quickly moved to oblige the woman and the captain wondered how she'd basically seemed to make the man something of a slave without even casting a spell.

She was carried into the mine over top of some draw bridge over looking a small indoor lake. The Orc carried her further inside and she felt a swell of fear when she came face to face with a cage she assumed would be her living quarters from this point on.

Much to her surprise the Osmer continued pass the cage walking into a large inner chamber with another indoor lake feed by a waterfall coming straight out of the wall. There was a strong wooden bridge on the left side of the wall leading further into the room and another bridge connecting to the first and crossing the lake reaching the other side of the room.

She smelled the fires of a forge below but couldn't be sure as in her crippled state she was only capable of moving her head side to side, but her shoulders were useless so she couldn't sit up to get a better view.

The Orc deposited her on a sleeping mat in a room that looked to be a store room for the bandits food supplies.

She could see over his shoulder and much to her shock there was another man, a Nord with blonde hair and bandits armor carrying a dead body with what looked to be another dead body assisting him.

"Go help my other reanimation with clean up." The Bretons voice said from another room next to the one she was laid in startling the woman.

The Orc nodded his head and moved to do just that leaving the woman alone with the other woman.

Quintessence moved from the other room and sat on a sleeping mat adjacent to hers.

"Like your new home?" The socceress asked her captive sparing her a smirk.

The captain felt an unholy rage the likes of which she'd never felt before boiling inside her and she snarled at the woman wishing she could tear that smile clean from her face.

"Why the hell are you doing this to me you stupid bitch! Isn't the fact that I can't move anything but my head torture enough? You have to drag me around with you, giving me no choice but to rely on the woman responsible for crippling me for survival? What the hell is this all some sick game to you!? You've already gotten your payback for Akatosh sake, so just kill me and get it over with!!!" She yelled her voice echoing off the cave walls and causing Quintessa's smile to disappear.

"I'd rather not kill you right now, I've got something more planned for you. At least be grateful you aren't pushing up daisies like some of your comrades. If you really wanted though, I could just have the Osmer carry you somewhere far away from here and leave your body to the wolves." The woman said adopting a cruel and sadistic smile as she made her way over towards the captain.

"Or if you really want I could just torture you until I've had my fill. I'll kill you when I'm finished of course." She said stooping down and summoning magical sparks that danced along the woman's finger tips threateningly.

She moved her hand closer to the captains face and the dancing sparks in her hand turned into a dancing fire that made the captains stomach drop and her heart leap.

"So which option do you choose? How badly do you want to be away from me, because you're barking up the wrong tree if you think I'll give you an easy way out such as death." She said as her expression went cold and her eyes turned serious.

The captain felt her eyes beginning to water as she attempted to reason that either of the other options would be preferable to the situation she found herself in but she knew that to be far from the truth. She just wanted her life and her limbs back.

She prayed to Akatosh to go back in time. She prayed to Arkay to just take her now so she would no longer suffer. She prayed to Stendar that the woman show her mercy and just end her existence as she wished she would've done in Helgan. She prayed to Talos asking the warrior God to lend her strength. She prayed to Mara mostly to apologise for her disregarded and her cold callous ways towards others that'd landed her in this situation. She prayed to Kynereath for kindness, goddess be willing she wouldn't allow the tears stinging at her eyes to fall and betray her weakness.

Unfortunately for the Imperial though as though it seemed as if the God's weren't paying her situation any mind, and her prayers went unanswered. Her tears fell down her face and she held back the urge to weep as the cruel woman now dictating her fate allowed the fire she was holding to fade and stood up turning away from her.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Did I really offend you that bad at Helgan!? I'm sorry I ordered your death! I had it rough coming up, and I know that no excuse to be a bitch who wrongfully sentences people to their deaths, but I never-"

"You never thought your actions would come back to haunt you in such a way." Quintessence said interrupting the woman.

"Save me your sob story, for you'll find I have no pity or kindness beyond what I'm already extending you."

"But I-"

"You saw fit to sentence me for death for something as petty as illegally crossing the border just because you could. You're a horrible person. Death is too good a fate for someone such as yourself right now."

"Maybe after I'm sure you've learned your lesson I'll allow you to feel the sweet embrace of Stendar's mercy by sending your soul to Arkay, but for now you belong to me. Just as you saw fit to claim my life for yourself when I was lined up with those rebels I'm doing the same with you now. The only difference being I'm not doing it off of a whim and misplaced cruelty. This is payback...Julianous and Hermas Morah be willing and you just might learn a lesson from it." Quintessence said leaving out of the room.

The captain didn't stop herself now feeling a bit more secure in her solitude. She allowed her tears to fall freely and sobbed silently wishing that she could turn over and slowly suffocate herself inside the folds of her sleeping mat.

Did she really deserve this? Was the woman's payback going too far or was it justified as she seemed to think? She had ordered her death for no reason and the woman had actually saved her life even if she was the one who'd almost brought it to an end.

The captain didn't know what to think. She just silently thanked Kynereath the woman left the room so she was now free to let loose the flood of emotion she'd been feeling since hours ago when they escaped Helgen.

 **Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Unbound-Part 2

**It's another short chapter, sorry I really hate uploading anything under 8k words. I'm breaking down the quest or certain events in the story to serve as chapters.** **There isn't really enough content this early in the game to make the chapters longer and if I tried I'd likely just bore you guys anyway. Trust me though they'll get longer in the future.**

The _mages first mission_

 **5K Words**

The captain woke a little while later feeling herself being nudged in the side by a foot.

She open her eyes to see the Breton standing over her and felt the urge to scowl but found she no longer had the will to do so and just remained silent.

Quintessence was surprised that most of the rage and contempt towards her she'd seen yesterday was already gone. Inside the woman's eyes was a look of acceptance, and behind that was a number of other emotions she was doing well to hide but Quintessence found she didn't really care to dwelve that deep.

The only emotion coming from the woman she cared enough to concern herself with was what she could see on the surface.

"The fight already gone out of you that fast? You are aware it's only been a day right? And not even a full one at that." She remarked smirking a bit as the captains eyes flashed with anger and hate.

"You try finding yourself incapable of the slightest movement and see how much fight you've left inside you. I'm completely at the mercy of you and anyone else who happens to stumble upon me in this pathetic condition. What would even be the point of fighting anymore?" The captain questioned not exactly looking for an answer.

"I don't know, maybe giving yourself a fighting chance?"

"What would be the p-" The captain froze as Quintessence leaned towards her getting so close to the woman she could feel her breath on her face.

"Did anyone ever tell you you smell pretty decent?" The Breton questioned giving her a toothy grin.

The captain would've paled were she not of the darker Imperial skin complexion. This was it...this was what the woman was keeping her for. She intended to voilate her, she'd just been waiting till the right moment.

The captain held back fearful tears and snarled at the woman unwilling to allow her the satisfaction of breaking her easily.

"About time you showed your true colors you scandalous dyke bitch! I should've k-"

She found herself cut off as Quintessence slapped her hard across the face before grabbing her chin and turning her to look at her directly once again.

"Don't flatter yourself captain... For starters I don't swing that way and two, although I can't say you're unattractive there are finer women out there than you. I'm hardly the type who's desperate enough to rape someone."

She smirked again before she moved her head to the side of the captains face and started licking her neck.

The Captain eyes widened and she attempted to move away but nothing had changed in a few hours and her body was still completely unresponsive. She began breathing heavy in fear of what was to come as her jailer continued running her tongue along her neck.

"Could've fooled me, seems like yo-" The woman's words died in her throat as she felt a sharp pain in her neck that was soon overwhelmed by a euphoric sensation the likes of which she never before experienced.

She lost her awareness of everything. The world slowly faded and all she was aware of was the delightful feeling coursing through her being, and the woman who was causing it as she drained the crimson life nectar from her neck.

Quintessence pulled back after a moment and just as fast as the feeling had come it was gone. The captain looked at the woman and didn't know what to think for a moment as her mind was completely blank.

She'd forgotten she'd made mention of being a vampire the day before. Did...did this woman just feed on her?

"What was that?" The captain finally spoke unsure of whether or not she was reffering to the heavenly feeling or the act of being feed on itself.

"A decent meal." The other woman said wiping her mouth on an animal skin.

"I mean the sensation that came after you bite me!" She growled knowing the woman was just bullshitting with her and knew what she was talking about.

"Vampire fangs are enchanted. We can choose whether or not to make our victims feel the pain from our bite, and we can give them pleasure if we so desire. It's how we're able to ensure sleeping victims don't wake when we feed."

"So you kept me alive to be your personal blood bank, is that it?"

"You should stop attempting to guess why I've kept you alive and just focus on staying that way for now."

She scoffed furrowing her brow at that response. "Because I'm in a condition to look after my own health right now?" She questioned lacing her voice with sarcasm.

"No you aren't but I am, and your own survival depends on how you act towards me. So by extension your are fully capable of ensuring your continued health. You just aren't in any type of condition to do so."

"You retarded bitch! What does that even mean!?"

Quintessence smirked at the woman before moving to the cooking pot in the room and pouring what smelled like some apple cabbage soup into a wooden bowl.

The captain felt her stomach growl but ignored it refusing to rely on this woman to feed her. Maybe when she was nearly starved she might have a change of heart but for now she'd still retain some of her dignity for as long as she was able.

The Breton placed the wooden bowl on the wooden bench behind her and sat down on the sleeping mat across from the captains.

"It means if you don't piss me off too badly or start boring me eventually you'll continue to live. You're capable of ensuring your own survival through me, but you aren't in any condition to survive without me."

The captains frown deepened along with the hate she felt towards the woman for doing this. Why the hell was she being so cruel? Sure she'd ordered her death for no reason, but she'd never do something this messed up and demeaning to a person.

"God's will you stop grinning so much! I fucking hate that smug look of satisfaction on your trash bin of a face!"

"Apparently either your continued survival doesn't mean much to you or you chose to ignore what I just said." She said smirking at the captains angry outburst.

The captain chose not to reply. She just looked up to stare at the roof of the cave hoping the woman would go away and leave her to fall back asleep soon.

"What's your name Imperial?"

The woman brought her eyes back down to shoot the curious looking Breton a frown.

"What the hell is it to you?"

"I'd rather not keep reffering to you as bitch, captain, or the Imperial woman."

She scoffed yet again and turned back towards the celling. "Only people that I call friends or comrades may have the pleasure of knowing my name."

"The pleasure you say?" Quintessence smirked. "There you go again flattering yourself." She snickered before standing up.

"I guess if that's how it is you can have it your way then.. Bitch... I just thought you'd prefer being addressed by your real name rather than a word of disrespect." She shrugged walking to the entrance of the room and calling chopper.

"I'm going to go survey the area around the mine. Feed our guest and make sure she's comfortable." She said walking past the Orc towards one of the mines exits.

"Yes ma'am." The Orc said picking up the bowl of apple cabbage stew and stooping down to the Imperials level holding out a wooden spoon of the soup to her.

She scowled and wished more than anything she could slap the bowl and spoon right out of the slave mans hand. She settled for an angry glare instead wishing she could move enough to spit on the Osmer. "Get the hell away from me!"

Quintessence was walking down the road towards Riverwood wondering if anyone in the town had any soul gems or better mages robs than the pair she had on. Being raised as nobility one got used to a certain standard. While the novice robs she wore were certainly preferable to the furs of a bandit or a clunky suit of heavy armor, they still weren't quite what she was used to.

Two wolves jumped out of the woods behind her as she passed but luckily she'd heard the creatures ahead of time, she hit one with a fury spell causing it to quickly turn on it's pack mate. The wolf jumped on the back of it's unsuspecting brethren and proceeded to rip it's throat out.

After the brutal killing of the only other living creature on the road it rushed towards Quintessence but was blasted into the river by a weak bolt of lightning.

She looked at the carcass of the other dead wolf and entertained the idea of skinning it but decided there'd be too much blood on the pelt and continued on her way towards Riverwood.

Upon arriving she saw a tan skinned Nord male arguing with what she assumed to be a wood elf over what she assumed to be a woman.

After a few choice words were exchanged between the two they parted ways and Quintessence decided she might as well be nosey considering there really wasn't anything else to do besides heading back to the mine.

She walked up to the Nord and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and looked slightly startled upon coming face to face with a fair skinned woman with shoulder length ebony waves.

He looked a bit unnerved and Quintessence could tell it was her eyes. While men always found her angular imperial features attractive the odd bright golden eyes were another thing entirely, especially when coupled with the fact that she usually wore dark red lipstick, which actually happened to be a blood stain from years of feeding. No one who looked at her could tell though considering it appeared to be lipstick. When she wanted a more unapproachable look rather than just a fierce one she covered it up with black lipstick, which was the only color of lipstick she actually wore.

She gave the impression of one of those darkly beautiful woman it'd be best to stay away from. Something she was always grateful for as she hardly found herself attracted to men, or even women for that matter. She smirked at his surprise careful not to accidently charm the man as she didn't need some weak pesent slave following her around.

"What were you and that bosmer arguing about?" She asked sparing no time and cutting straight to the point.

To her satisfaction the man wasted no time filling her in.

"Camella Valerieus knows I'm the best man in Riverwood. That elf is kidding himself if he thinks she would choose him over me. I've seen him sneaking over to the Riverwood trader to speak with her when I'm not around, and he's wasting his time."

 _"This one's cocky that's for sure, maybe I can stire the pot a little."_ She thought smirking inwardly.

"He sounds persistent. Why not do something about it?"

"You may be right. Camella may see Faendal as more than a friend although I'd have no idea why. Here..give Camella this letter. It's full of Venomous nonesense. Tell her it's from Faendal."

Quintessence took the letter and looked at it for a moment before shrugging and walking towards the Riverwood trader.

 _"Funny how the best man in Riverwood would rather undermine the competition than fight for the madiens hand like you'd expect from a real man. I thought men liked competition anyway."_ She mentally sighed opening the door to the building with the traders sign hanging outside.

"Well one of us has to do something!"

"I said no! No adventures, no threatrics, no thief chasing!"

Quintessence paused in the doorway wondering if she was interrupting something.

"Well what are you going to do about it huh? Let's hear it." The woman she assumed to be Camilla said folding her arms and frowning at the man behind the counter.

"We are done talking about this." The man said with finality before turning to notice Quintessence in the doorway.

"Oh, ahem mh." The man cleared his throat before wiping the frown from his face and putting on a business friendly smile. "Excuse me and my sister, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Quintessence nodded and walked into the store figuring now was as good a time as any to see the man's wares.

"I don't know what you may have heard but the Riverwood trader is still open. Feel free to shop."

Quintessence nodded intending to do just that with the few septums she actually had on her person.

"What have you got for sale?"

The man grinned and stepped to the side giving her a better view of his merchandise.

"Some may call this junk, me I call them treasures."

Quintessence surveyed his goods and felt herself delight upon seeing he had three sets of apprentice robes. A set for alteration, a set for illusion, and a set for restoration. Much to to her dismay though the robes were all over three thousand gold a piece and she only had sixty seven septums to her name.

She asked him about soul gems and found them being to pricey for her pockets as well. A filled petty soul gem would run her one hundred and twenty two septums, she could afford the only petty soul gem the man was in possession of as he told her he would let it go for only thirty septums. She choose not to buy though considering she'd be needing gold for other things in the future and soul gems weren't a necessity at the moment.

"So I take it with the war going on there's been a dwindle in supplies causing prices to skyrocket?" She asked having never seen apprentice robes sold at such a cost before.

"Fortunately for us traders but unfortunate for just about everyone else. Sorry I couldn't give you any better deals but times have been harder around here lately."

She nodded in understanding and walked towards the man's sister who was sitting at a table on the left side of the room looking rather upset.

"Maybe you could talk some sense into my pathetic brother."

Quintessence raised an eyebrow at the hateful tone she took towards the man.

"Did something happen?"

"A band of thieves broke in and stole and old family treasure me and that's been passed down along our line for years. Originally our family started out in Skyrim but moved to Cyrodile ages ago long before the sack of the Imperial city. My brother and I seeking to be independent from the rest of our family moved back to Skyrim a short while ago right before the war broke out, and being the youngest of our family looking after the ancient relic was a duty that fell upon us since we're expected to pass it on down the line."

Quintessence nodded showing she was following where the woman was going with this.

"Last night while me and my brother slept a thief or some thieves broke in and randsacked the place taking with them only a few septums and the claw of solid gold that's belonged to our family for generations. I want to track down the loathsome bandits and get back what's rightfully ours but my cowardly brother think it's best just to stay put and do nothing while those unwashed flichers are out somewhere likely selling our families herilome.

Quintessence covered the urge to snicker at her unwashed comment and nodded her head in understanding seeing why the woman was clearly upset.

"I'm very sorry to hear that and I wish you the best in talking some sense into your brother on the matter. Although I do understand where your coming from the matter isn't mine to discuss with the man."

Camilla nodded sadly unsurprised that she replied in such a way. "I understand your reason and although it does little to alleviate my sadness I am grateful for your understanding anyway."

Quintessence nodded before pulling out the letter she'd received from Sven and handing it to Camilla.

"Sven wanted me to trick you into believing this letter was from Faendal."

"What are you talking about, what's in the letter?" She said as she opened the paper.

"Oh my.." She continued reading on until the sadness in her eyes was replaced with anger and she threw the letter into the fireplace she sat beside.

"How dare Sven attempt to do such a thing! If he's afraid of a little competition than he never deserved my affections anyway!" The woman growled seething with anger.

"My thoughts exactly." Quintessence agreed smirking inwardly and wishing she could see the look on Sven face the next time he attempted to talk to Camilla.

"Thank you for telling me the truth traveler. I don't know how I would have reacted to Faendal the next time he came to visit me if you'd have done what Sven asked you to."

"No problem at all." Quintessence replied moving towards the door to the Riverwood trader.

"Before you head to wherever it is your travels may take you I think you should speak with Faendal. He might wish to think you for standing up for him."

Quintessence nodded and left wondering what else there was she could get into inside the small town of Riverwood. She walked towards the town blacksmith figuring he might be a decent conversationalist.

The man was tempering a sword on the grindstone and she asked him what there was that he could tell her about Riverwood. He proceeded to give her the story of how the small town was established starting with how Gerdur, Ralof's sister established a mill and basically the town had grown from there. It made her wonder if Ralof and the other Stormcloaks were still around but she'd rather not go searching for them so she decided to ask the next question that crossed her mind.

"Do you need help around the forge?"

The man looked at her curiously surprised a mage type would ask such a question.

"You have knowledge of how to temper steel?"

"A little bit, I'm not a master blacksmith or anything but I'm a pretty decent smith when it comes to iron and steel."

The man didn't look quite like he believed her but he nodded his head anyway.

"Well then yes actually, I suppose there's a bit you can help me with. How's about you smith me an iron dagger, here's everything you need to make one." He said pointing to a pile of iron ingot and leather straps.

She grabbed one of each and moved towards the forge, pulling on the string to heat the ember's and going to work.

Around forty minutes later she presented Alvor with an iron dagger and the man looked moderately impressed.

"Not bad, reminds me of when I started smithing. It's a little dull though, how's about you sharpen it up? Just need a bit of metal and the grindstone over there."

She nodded grabbing another ingot and sitting down at the grindstone doing just as he asked.

Feeling satisfied with her work around fifteen minutes later she handed the dagger to the man looking pleased with herself.

"This looks good, you put time into your blades. That'll serve you well when you need them. You want to keep helping, how about you make some armor? Let's start by tanning some leather on the rack."

She nodded and moved towards the rack with a deer hide in hand and began doing that finding the work to be calming in a way. She finished that quickly and took the leather to Alvar.

"Here's that leather you wanted."

"Ahh good, a lot of weapons and armor need leather for straps fittings and that sort of thing. Let's see if you can make a hide helmet, here's the materials you need."

Quintessence took the two pieces of leather and the leather straps and moved back to the forge noticing the man wasn't actually using her to help out but more like he was testing her to see what she really knew.

Crafting the hide helmet took considerably less time than it'd took to make the dagger since it didn't require her to shape and wait for the metal to cool

He seemed genuinely pleased when she presented him with the helmet.

"I should hire you to be my assistant at this rate. Let's improve the fit, take the helmet and this leather to the work bench over there." He said about to motion to the work bench but Quintessence was already on her way there.

In less than three minutes she was sure she'd improved the helmet to a level that Alvor would be satisfied with. Grinning at the blacksmith she presented him with the helmet.

"You have talent. Keep working at your craft and you'll be a fine smith one day. Why don't you keep that dagger and helmet. Just remember me when you're making Skyforged steel eh?"

Quintessence didn't know what Skyforged steel was but she smiled none the less grateful for the man's gift. She bid him goodbye after offering her thanks wishing the blessings of Kyne upon him which he seemed grateful for.

She made her way towards Gerdurs mill figuring she might as well see if Ralof was still in town and offer the helmet and dagger to him as she had no need for them but didn't want to let the blacksmiths gift go to waste.

On her way over she saw a man with pointed ears and assumed he was the bosmer Faendal. Riverwood was a pretty small little town so there couldn't be that many wood elves here. His fair almost human skin complexion differentiated him from the golden skinned altmer, and the aashen skinned dunmer. The man most certainly wasn't and Osmer or a Dwemer so by process of elimination he had to be a wood elf.

She walked towards the man who didn't notice her approaching as he gazed at the river with a far off look in his eyes.

"You're Faendal I pressure?" She said coming to a stop a short distance behind him.

"Hm? Oh yes, pardon my day dreaming. Did you want something?" The man asked in a kindly manner.

"Not really, just passing the time and looking for something that may spark my interest or give me something to do." She said moving to lean against the wooden fence and gaze at the beauty of the white river.

"Well Gerdur's always willing to pay someone to chop some firewood if works what you're looking for. I work at the mill whenever I'm not out hunting or-"

"Attempting to wooh Camilla with poems and tender words of sweetness." The Breton interrupted grinning at his surprised expression.

"How did you know that?" He asked looking puzzled.

"I basically got the gist of what was going on from Mr Perfect, or Sven as he's called. Bastard wanted me to deliver a rather nasty letter to Camilla and say it was from you, it makes me wonder why he already had the letter on his person. Apparently the bastard had been planning this for a while now and just needed someone to deliver the letter for him."

Faendal nodded his head but there was still an unspoken question in his eyes. Quintessence thought she had an idea of what it might be.

"As for the poems and what not I was only jesting with you. I hardly know what you do in your attempts to garner Camilla's heart but you seem to me to be the tender or romantic type so poetry seemed appropriate." She said eyeing him questioningly knowing she'd likely been right.

Faendal laughed at her words, she had no idea how right she actually was about that. He had no intent to answer the question she was asking with her gaze though, she'd been right but there was no reason he should let her know it.

She noticed his neglect to do so and didn't hold it against him as a persons love life was their own business and no one else's. Instead she decided she might as well change the subject, the elf seemed agreeable enough to her.

"I don't think Camilla will be spending anymore time with Sven."

The bosmer smiled at the statement turning his gaze from the river to the clouds for a moment before looking back down and looking at Quintessence.

"I appreciate your help, please take this. Some gold I saved up from working at the mill." Faendal said handing her a small amount of septums.

She looked at the palm of her hand and held it out towards him causing him to look at her in confusion.

"I could hardly accept payment for doing the right thing. No doubt you've worked hard to save this coin, I'd rather you continue to save it and maybe get miss Valarius something nice in the future."

Faendals cheeks adopted a red tint but he pushed the woman's hand back insisting she take the coin as it was the least he could do. Not one to turn down free coin more than once she thanked him for his generousity and added the septums to her pathetically light coin purse.

Faendal adopted a sad look for a moment as he looked back towards the lake and Quintessence wondered what that was about.

"Something wrong?" She asked curious as to where the change in demeanor came from.

"Oh..it's nothing really. I was just thinking about how Camilla seemed rather upset about losing her family ornament when she came to inform me of your good deed earlier. I was thinking of following those thieves and retrieving it for her but I know I'd only die in the act of trying, I'm no warrior." The man sad rather sadly as his ears dropped a little.

 _"This man really cares about Camilla."_ Quintessence thought deciding she might as well help him retrieve the item as she'd been looking for something to do anyway.

Plus if their quest involved killing thieves their was a chance those thieves might have gold, gold she could definitely make use of at the moment.

"I'll help you retrieve the item if you'd like."

Faendal looked up his features painted in surprise for the second time that day.

"Are you sure? I couldn't really ask you to do such a thing, there's sure to be danger."

Quintessence smirked a slightly excited and toothy grin.

"I insist, it'd give me something to do and perhaps even provide a bit of coin. Do you know what the thieves ran off to?"

"I do! Camilla said her brother mentioned they likely ran off to bleak falls barrow. An old Nordic crypt in the montains not far from here." Faendal said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

 _"This woman definitely seems confident enough and she wears the robs of a mage. Perhaps if we catch them by surprise we'll be able to defeat those fool thiefs and get Camilla her claw back!"_

"Well then if you're ready lead the way my friend." Quintessence said with a gesture of her hands and Faendal smirked doing just that.

 **Quintessence may come of as being much nicer in this chapter than the last two but like I said her morals are generally good. It's just when it comes to certain situations she has no morals and her kindness goes out the window to be replaced by a cold and callous disregard for human life. You'll understand more of her as the story progresses, just know that I'm not changing how she is or anything, there's just different sides to her and this is how she usually acts around regular people.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


	4. The Golden Claw-Part 1

**Thanks for all the favorites and follows so early in the story, I'm really glad you guys are enjoying it and I hope you'll continue to do so.**

 _Bandits and Burrows_

Turned out Bleak falls barrow was much closer than Quintessence had originally thought.

Faendal had lead her through the east gate of Riverwood and up a winding mountain path, they came across a wolf with was easily dispatched with a burst of flames and an arrow to the face.

They continued further along the path discovering it got cold quickly in the mountains. If the air down below was chilly, the air up here was freezing. Quintessence cursed herself for not putting any furs under her loose novice robes which offered no protection against the cold winds and no respite from the falling snow.

A short while after traveling along the snowy path they came across a tower where a bandit in iron armor stood demanding payment to continue on their way towards the ruins.

Quintessence frowned and answered his demand with a thunderbolt which sent him falling from the cliff. Two more bandits rushed forward from the tower but upon noticing their leader gone prepared to charge the Breton and her comrade but found themselves frozen in place by their own fear.

"Come on Faendal." Quintessence called walking past the two and not sparing them a second glance.

Faendal looked at the frozen bandits wearily and followed behind her waiting till they were a short distance away and saw the ruins in the distance to ask her what was that.

"Nothing really, just a useful little charm I can use to paralyze those who are of weak mind or spirit with their own fear."

"How come you didn't use it on the guy in iron armor?" He asked curiously.

"Because for it to work the person I'm using it on has to have a certain amount of fear towards me in their heart and they have to be making eye contact. The bandit I blasted off the mountain had no fear, his comrades upon noticing the strongest of their group was gone felt enough fear for me to use."

Faendal nodded feeling more grateful for the woman's help now than he'd been when they left Riverwood.

Quintessence would have killed the bandits and seen if they had anything worth taking but she didn't know how much magicka she would need inside the barrow and thought it better to be safe than sorry.

Luckily her vampiric charms didn't need magicka for her to use, they only required a bit of will power and eye contact which she could usually always manage.

Quintessence looked at the gaint stone ruins stretching into the sky above them and couldn't help but be impressed by the ancient Nords architectural feats. The air around the ruin was solemn and seemed slightly depressing for some reason but that was something she felt rather than actually smelled, she smelled humans on the wind and told Faendal to crouch and walk silently when they got closer to the ruins.

She marveled at the ruins again before reaching the stair case leading upwards, there were two smaller sets of stairs seemingly carved into the ground. The ruins themselves were shaped out of some kind of dark grey granite rock she wondered about.

Did the ancient Nords carve the ruins out of the side of the mountain or did they move parts of the mountain into the clearing and carve them to serve as whatever this burrow had served as originally.

She summoned a bound bow and creeped up the steps with Faendal on her heels. He kicked a rock and Quintessence cursed knowing what was to come next.

"Huh?" A voice intoned as a sword was drawn and she heard the foot steps of a bandit making their way towards them.

She pulled an arrow from the quiver of ether and slide it into the string of the bow pulling it back and waiting for her target to hit the corner. A man with skin that might have been that of a Redguards or a dark skinned Imperial came around the corner and let out of cry of angiush as an etheral arrow planted itself in his eye.

Faendal shot an arrow inside the man's chest silencing him as his lungs filled with blood and he fell sliding down the steps. Quintessence already had another arrow in place and ready to fire before she stepped over the man's body as it descended down the steps.

She heard Faendal make a sound behind her and almost laughed as she realized he was throwing up.

She ignored it and shot a Nordic woman weilding a greatsword in the leg causing her to fall and crash into the stairs hard unable to stop herself from falling all the way down thanks to the snow.

She ran to the top of the steps charging a lightning bolt in her hand and blasting an Archer who'd taken aim at Faendal. The man stumbled and glared at her hatefully before lifting his bow up again before receiving an arrow in the side of his face for all his troubles and dropping to the ground dead.

Quintessence grinned turning towards the ground below to see Faendal dropping his bow and losing his lunch for the second time that day.

"Nice shot Faendal!" She shouted hoping he heard her over the roar of the wind that battered them with snow.

He paid her no mind as he continued to hold his stomach and stain the beautiful snow covered ground with it's contents. The Nord woman lay in the snow screaming obscenities at them both and Quintessence took a moment to admire the woman's strength before firing an arrow at her throat and silencing her forever.

She thought to search her and the dark skinned man at the bottom of the steps but she'd already made her way up the stairs and walking back down would be counter productive.

Faendal looked like he might be a while, the wood elf definitely had the accuracy befitting of a Bosmer Hunter but he'd obviously never seen a freshly dead human before let alone killed one.

"Kynereath's blessing upon you Faendal, it gets easier with practice! If you don't mind, before you come up check and see if those two are carrying coin purses with anything but dust and empty dreams inside! I'm gonna go ahead and see what's waiting for us inside the barrow, don't spend too much time out here you'll catch your death!" She yelled over the wind proceeding to check the dead archer when Faendal nodded weakly.

The man didn't even have a coin purse but he had a bottle of med. He certainly had the priorities of a bandit in her opinion.

She continued forward to the barrow pushing open one of the large stone doors and closing it behind her, for what reason she didn't know.

She heard voices coming from deeper inside of the large chamber she stood inside and crouched walking forward silently coming upon the body of a man who appeared to have lost his life to a group of skeevers.

 _"Definitely not on my top fives list of ways to go."_ She thought searching the man and smiling when she found six gold coins on his person.

She moved further into the room stepping over all of the dead skeevers and stopping when she sighted two bandits standing in front of a fire talking about things she really didn't care to listen to.

She pulled another arrow from her quiver and took aim at the man catching him right in the neck and ending him instantly, before the woman even had the chance to react another arrow was already flying towards her hitting her in the center of the chest.

She turned her head gazing into the shadows of the chamber where the arrow had come from and saw a figure in what looked like robs walking towards, seconds later her vision fully faded and death had claimed her.

"May Arkay bless your souls."

Quintessence had watched the woman's eyes flare with panic when the arrow landed inside the throat of her companion. She'd seen the woman's eyes fill with fear and disbelief the moment the next arrow peirced the weak hide armor she wore and tore into her heart. She'd seen the woman turn her head to gaze in her direction attempting to gain a look at the person responsible for her death, she'd seen the life that bound her soul to this world fade from her eyes and she felt nothing.

Unlike Faendal she was very well acquainted with the act of killing. She hardly felt anything these days if she didn't know the person on the other end of her spells.

She did feel something though as she pooled a small amount of Magicka into both her hands and casted two weak reanimation spells on both freshly dead corpse's.

She felt remorse for spitting in the face of Arkay, but then again she was a vampire. Her very existence was a spit in the face of the God who regulated the cycle of life and death. It wasn't like she could blame herself though, she'd been born a vampire, she'd been taught to give the utmost respect to all things living and all things dead.

Which basically meant she was to respect everything and she did to a certain extent, as far as she was concerned though necromancy was the most powerful form of magic there was. There was no way she'd limit herself by refusing to use it as a way to please a God she never had any chance of meeting.

If she died her soul would belong to Molag Bahl. Dying should be out of the question for that reason alone but she found she had no fear at the thought of death. If it just so happened to be her fate than she'd accept it for what it was, she wouldn't run from it. Fear didn't suit one who'd lived as long as she had.

She pulled out a lockpick and went to work on the chest sitting around the campfire and moved back to the other side of the fire, she found ten orcish arrows a conundrum ingot fourty four septums and a potion of healing.

Pulling out the iron dagger she'd crafted earlier she moved back towards the the center of the chamber and started cutting off the tails of the dead skeevers in the room.

Just as she finished cutting the last tail, the door to the ruin opened and Faendal came inside looking rather sick.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked stuffing the tail inside a specific pouch inside her satchel with the others.

Faendal nodded weakly and paled upon noticing the two standing corpse's at the end of the room. He began looking as if he might throw up again, but much to the Bretons satisfaction he merly shot her a questioning look.

"You're a necromancer?"

"I'm a lot of things." She replied pulling out the hide helmet she crafted earlier and giving it to the wood elf.

"You'd might as well grab a sword from the dead body near the beginning of this chamber, I can smell life ahead so there's a good chance you'll need it."

Faendal didn't question her comment instead he just moved to comply, she picked up a iron shield and some studded armor that'd been sitting beside the fire and gave that to him as well. The more armor he had the better his chances of survival.

Satisfied that she'd taken anything that could be of value inside this chamber she began walking down the steps, holding her hand out to block the spider webs in the passage way at the bottom.

She saw a buriel urun on a table that looked as if it was used for embalming corpse's and opened it finding three gold and a silver garnet ring.

There was another set of steps further down the passage way and further down from that another dead skeever.

After a walking for a short while longer she came across a tool self sitting next to a brazer that had a potion of stamina on the center self. She put the potion inside of her stachel and continued further inside the ruin smelling the scent of human getting closer.

She came across yet another set of steps and marveled at how the ancient Nords carved everything out of stone. After walking some more and coming around a corner she saw a man with a torch standing in a chamber below.

She thanked Akatosh her bow hadn't disappered yet and drew and arrow launching it at the man's back causing him to stumble forward and utter a curse. He turned around, eyes alit with fury which quickly made way for fear as he saw the corpse's of his dead friends charging towards him.

He gave a battle cry and raised his mace meeting the sword of the man's corpse's head on. The woman pulled a dagger and slashed at him wildly while he tried his best to kill the males corpse, struggling all the while because dead bodies didn't recoil or flinch from pain.

They fought with reckless abandon, and even if it was a weak spell she'd used to reanimate the two, as a master necromancer all the Bretons reanimations were strong. Soon the man lay dead on the floor along with the corpse of the man Quintessence had reanimated. She had to give the man credit, he'd beaten the unlife out of the corpse before finally succumbing the the dagger of the other corpse who'd been continuously stabbing him in the back.

Faendal had watched the whole thing with his bow at the ready and didn't know if he should be appreciative of the woman or wary of her. While her minions of death fought the man she'd just casually strolled past them into the room not bothering to pay them a second thought.

He saw her walk up the steps and take something from the tool self at the end of the ledge and by the time she came back down the stairs the man lay dead on the floor next to the corpse of the man she'd made to fight for her moments ago.

She stepped over one of the corpse's and beant down in front of the other looking pleased when she discovered a little bit of gold on his person, around 20-30 septums at glance but Faendal wasn't sure.

She then searched the second corpse apparently finding nothing of interest and picking up the mace of the first. She walked behind the still standing corpse of the woman and lifted the mace high, slamming it into the top of the woman's head.

She then proceeded to beat down her reanimation stopping when the body finally collapsed onto the floor in much worse condition than it'd been in originally. Faendal became aware of the fact that he was trembling slightly but he couldn't stop himself, this woman was insane.

He began to wonder if he'd make it out of here alive, it was possible she would always just kill him too for whatever reason. Didn't necromancers prefer experimenting with the dead just as much as the did with the living?

She turned to look at him curiously licking away a bit if the blood that'd gotten on her face and shot him a toothy grin dropping the mace and walking over to a set of ruins.

"Relax Faendal I'm not going to harm you in anyway, your fear smells almost delicious, do try to get it in check."

"Y-Yes ma'am.." He stammered unsure of how in oblivion he was supposed to do that.

The woman obviously had a blatant disregard for both life and death, she seemed to have enjoyed beating that poor woman's corpse back down and Faendal found himself wondering why she'd done such a thing anyway.

He dared not to ask though, he just watched as she turned the three pillars in the room into a specific order, snake snake whale. She moved to the center of the room and pulled the lever on the floor and the gate in front of her opened.

Faendal was still frozen where he was till she turned to him with a raised eyebrow causing him to jump involuntarily.

"Relax Faendal, I'm not going to kill you. I came here to help you remember? That'd be counter productive to my reason for being here, I may be a killer but I'm not murderer. Pull your big boy pants up and remember, you're here for Camilla and I'm here to help you while helping myself to the gold and whatever else it is I can find worth any value in this crypt."

Faendal nodded weakly before swallowing his fear and reminding himself of those facts. If the woman really wanted to kill him he doubted he'd of made it this far, he shook his head getting himself together and quickly jogged across the chamber to stand in front of her and nod his head saying he was ready to proceed.

She smirked and appeared pleased at his change in demeanor and moved forward heading through the gate.

Quintessence had been slightly amused by Faendals misplaced fear of her but she didn't need the man to be scared right now, she needed him ready to follow her into combat. There was a chest on the other side of the gate along with a book on a table she'd read before called thief.

She picked the book up and placed it inside her satchel and opened the chest finding a draught of the light feet, seventeen gold, two lock picks, a potion of stamina, and a scroll of dread zombie.

 _"Coming here with Faendal was a good idea. I've went from sixty seven to two hundred and fourty six gold and we haven't even finished exploring or found that claw yet."_ She remarked to herself with a smirk.

She turned away from the chest and her eyes lit up coming face to face with a lesser soul gem sitting on a soul gem stand she'd somehow missed before. She let loose a low chuckle and grabbed it uncaring that it was empty, she'd fill it later.

She heard small little scratchy foot steps and turned seeing a number of skeevers running up the wooden flight of stairs to her right.

She summoned a chain of sparks within both her hands and shocked two of the little creatures to death. Faendals arrow found purchase in the third and the fourth ran away apparently losing it's courage without it's comrades or just being in possession of more intelligence than she could say the others were.

She quickly cut the tails from the three of them and carefully made her way down the spiraling wooden stair case wary of what kind of condition it might be in after years of no maintenance. To her surprise though it'd held up well as the wooden boards still felt pretty strong beneath her feet as her and Faendal descended into the chamber below.

Inside the chamber was a number of spider webs lining every corner and every wall, and on the table was a potion of paralysis and a scroll of fireball. Quintessence made a mental note that exploring the ancient Nordic crypts around Skyrim might just be a profitable venture, but she hoped for an easier way to secure septums because the heavy smell of death in the air was burning her nose.

They proceeded through the hall outside the room they were just inside and made a left seeing a room with an entrance that'd been blocked off by spider webs.

A quick torrent of flame solved that problem and she and Faendal stepped inside the room seeing a Dunmer tied up in a thick bed of web on the other end. A large frostbite spider dropped from the ceiling and the man began to scream for his life.

"Help, kill it kill it! Get it away from me, get it awaaay!!!"

Quintessence was actually interested to see what a frostbite spider of that size feeding on a human would look like but Faendal had already launched and arrow at the creature.

Not one to be shown up or bitten by a frostbite spider Quintessence began launching firebolts at the creature as soon as it turned around. It lay dead on the ground soon enough and Quintessence grabbed and empty wine bottle she'd been keeping inside of her satchel and began applying pressure to the none barbed part of it's mandibles milking it for it's frostbite venom.

Faendal watched with half a look of curiosity and half a look of distgust. Quintessence stood after she was finished and smirked at him.

"You could learn a lot adventuring with me my friend."

"I'm not sure if I'd actually care to learn most of the things you're talking about." Faendal said developing a small smirk of his own.

"Well at least it isn't harvesting troll fat, those things stink nearly as much on the outside as they do on the inside."

Faendal opened his mouth to reply but found himself cut off by an indignant cry from the still trapped Dunmer.

"Well you aren't going to just leave me here are you?!"

Quintessence frowned at the man and told Faendal to pay him no mind for right now. She began searching the burial urns finding thirteen gold and grabbing two spider egg sacks from around the room and then walked to the dark elf with Faendal behind her.

"Thank goodness you found me, quick cut me down before anything else show's up."

"Where's the golden claw?" Quintessence asked ignoring his request.

His eyes widened but his face quickly morphed into a casual frown which he seemed to be trying to hide.

"Yes the claw I know how it works! The claw the markings the door, I know about it all. Let me down from here and I'll show you, you wouldn't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."

"I'm not stupid grey skin, I'll be taking the claw first or I'll reanimate that frostbite spider and satisfy my curiosity of seeing a grown man get sucked clean by one of those things."

"Y-You wouldn't do such a thing!?" The dunmer said writhing around in the webs attempting to break free as his eyes filled with panic.

"Try me." Quintessence said smiling evilly at the man as she summoned an orb of magic into her right hand.

"I-I can't even move! Cut me down and you can have the claw!"

Quintessence didn't believe for one minute that after she left the man wouldn't attempt to make a run for it so she used the fear in his heart to charm him into paralysis, and then proceeded to cut the web.

The man feel and she helped him to his feet going inside of his satchel and retrieving the golden claw.

"I used magicka when I placed that charm on you friend, do you know what that means?"

The dunmer just stood still as he was unable to move or speak as a fear the likes of which he'd never felt before kept him rooted to the spot.

"It means you'll be stuck like that for around two to three days, standing in that very position until your legs grow so tired you collapse, but then you'll still be unable to move." She said smiling at him wickedly.

"Here's a little present from me, your warm body will help promote their growth." She said placing one of the egg sacks she'd taken inside of the man's armor.

"Those little guys are sure to be hungry when they hatch, it's likely what their moma was saving you for so expect them soon. I'd say that egg sack will be ready to burst open in about...two to three days. Pray Akatosh gives you enough time for that charm to wear of before those hundred or so frostbite spiders break free of that egg sack and slowly milk you for all your worth." Quintessence said still smiling evilly at the man.

"Come on Faendal." She said moving past the man walking into the next room.

Faendal was once again shocked, what she was doing to this man was unbelievably cruel. He took a moment to spare a glance at the frozen man and saw tears falling from the corners of his eyes.

Faendal shook his head trying not to think too much about his fate and followed the woman least she get mad at him. He was no longer frightened at the thought of her killing him for some reason but more so at what she'd do before or instead of doing it.

Quintessence could smell the man's fear but paid it no mind as there was something else in the air that was currently drawing her attention. It felt like some kind of ancient and powerful magic hanging over the lower area of the crypt not too far from where they were.

She'd read about draugr before and assumed it had something to do with that but it still felt a little unsettling. She couldn't understand the magics composition or it's source and she was a master conjurer and Illusionist. Whatever it was it was very powerful that much was for certain.

She quickly searched the room she was in finding an empty common soul gem on top of a holder, eleven gold inside an urn and a garnet inside of another one.

She proceeded through the walk way outside of the room with Faendal behind her and together they entered what appeared to be a large ancient Nordic burial chamber.

 _"The strange magic hangs heavy over this area. I should be very watchful of the dead."_

"I don't like the looks of this." A nervous Faendal remarked from behind her. Quintessence couldn't blame him much because she honestly could say she didn't like the feel.

They continued further inside the chamber with Quintessence paying attention to the remains of every Nord they passed till she came across the body of one which laid in the same position as the others but looked as if it'd been moved lately. She felt the ancient magic in the air inside of the corpse and silently cast a bound bow spell fitting and arrow into the string as quickly as she could and pulling it back.

She let the arrow fly and it smacked into the side of the corpse and much to her surprise it's eyes snapped open and it began to stand up.

She heard Faendal utter a curse behind her a draw his bow too and three arrows later the draugr lay as dead as it should've been originally. The ancient magic that'd been inhabiting it's body now dispersed inside of the air.

"What the hell was that!?" Faendal shouted earning him a shhh from Quintessence who looked around knowing if there was one there had to be more.

"It's called a draugr and before you ask no, I don't know exactly what they are besides long dead ancient warriors who continue to fight after death. It's likely some kind of ancient spell the old Nords put on their tombs to deter people from robbing their graves but in the book I read about them it says no one knows. We've got to be silent from this point on, better we catch them by surprise than to be caught by surprise."

Faendal nodded and the two continued further inside the chamber after Quintessence took the gold off of the fallen draugr they'd just slain. Stealing from the dead would be considered by most to be wrong but as far as she was concerned the dead had no need of their coin but she did.

Faendal either seemed not to care or he just didn't voice his thoughts. It didn't take heightened vampire sense's to know the bosmer was now just wishing to get out of this place more than anything, but he wouldn't leave Quintessence considering he might not make it past those bandits back at the tower on his own and an honorable man repaid the debts he owed.

They killed two more draugr with Faendal receiving a gash on his arm but thankfully no other injures and Quintessence quickly mended that with a healing hands spell.

He looked at her questionly after the wound closed.

"I thought healing magic didn't leave scars?" He said curiously wondering if what his brother had told him years ago was a myth.

"Well it doesn't but I figure it isn't really an ugly scare and it'll make a good souvenir that you can use to tell the story of what happened here today. I doubt many people could say they dwelved into an ancient Nordic crypt and fought bandits and walking corpse's. It'd probably impress most people even if some of them didn't believe you."

Faendal's eyes widened and he grinned as he realized she was right, no doubt he'd have a story for the ages when he got back to Riverwood. He could even show Camilla, no doubt she'd think the scar was manly and she'd appreciate the danger he threw himself into for her sake all the more.

"Okay now lover boy, quit day dreaming. We still haven't come out of this with our lives yet."

Uhh..y-yea right." Faendal said with a sheepish smile.

The two continued walking again and Quintessence pointed at the ground telling him to avoid a circular plate on the ground that would no doubt trigger a trap of some kind. They walked a past metal gate with spikes and Faendal winced glade she'd seen the trap, both of them would be dead right now or dying slowly and painfully otherwise.

Quintessence continued taking gold off of the dead that lay around them which made Faendal slightly uncomfortable but he chose not to comment, the woman had only come to help him out in this first place. It's not like she'd woken up and said what a lovely day to go grave robbing. She was just doing what she had to do to survive and Faendal couldn't hate her for that.

They reached the next chamber and quickly began dispatching the draugr there with Quintessence earning herself an arrow to the side as her bow dispelled before she cound finish the last of them.

Faendal quickly finished the last of the four and rushed to her side hoping she'd be okay. She ripped the arrow out and began healing herself and Faendal sighed in relief as her wound quickly closed itself.

Quintessence sighed at the hole and the blood stain now on her robs. At least she'd been gaining a pretty decent amount of coin from the dead here though, maybe she'd be able to buy another pair of novice robs just like these when they were finished here.

"I've been wondering, how come we're going deeper into the ruin instead of just leaving the way we came? We've already gotten the golden claw." Faendal said asking a question he'd been too scared to ask a while ago.

Quintessence shrugged. "Have you no sense of adventure my Bosmer friend? Curiousity of course, perhaps there's some sort of grand treasure or ancient tome waiting for us at the end of this crypt, the Dunmer didn't steal the golden claw for just anything and he made a mention of some kind of treasure. We might as well find out what it is he was talking about while we're here."

Faendal nodded figuring that answer made sense, he repressed a shiver remembering the poor man's fate and wondered why the mage could be so friendly towards him yet so cruel towards a man she didn't even know.

They continued on deeper into the ruins easily slaying the sleeping draugr standing up inside little enclosers in the wall encountering a draugr that was surprisingly much stronger than the rest and knew magic. With a barrage of arrows the creature feel easily enough but not before blasting Faendal with a torrent of ice.

The wood elf shook it off remarking that he was fine when Quintessence asked and waited for her to finish searching the fallen corpse's before they continued onwards.

Eventually they came across another chamber where the burial mound fell open revealing a draugr that hadn't even appeared to have been sleep. Quintessence hit the draugr with two arrows as it started running towards them and Faendal stepped forward with his sword and shield in hand bashing the creature and causing it to stumble backwards slightly.

Quintessence planted another arrow in it's chest and Faendal took a powerful swing with his sword causing it to stumble again, raising his shield just in time to block a swing of it's two handed battle axe. Another arrow hit it and it feel to it's knee apparently too damaged to continue fighting. Faendal moved forward and brung his sword down in a powerful swing finishing off the strong sleepless corpse.

He flexed his arms afterwards turning to Quintessence with a proud smirk.

"I don't know why but that felt good for some reason."

She returned the look and complemented him on his fighting ability remarking that for a hunter he could make for a decent warrior when he needed to be. Faendal just continued to smirk sheathing his weapon and waiting for Quintessence to loot the draugr and search a chest that was in the room.

She looked around after she finished and pulled a wall lever which raised a gate they proceeded to walk through. After walking through a watery tunnel for about a minute they came out into a rather wide cave with glowing mushrooms on the wall the Breton collected and placed inside the reagents pocket of her satchel.

She found a chest towards the end of the cave and pulled out some gold and a ruby which she placed in her bag after putting the gold inside her coin purse. Faendal wondered just how much gold she'd found in the cave considering she found at least a little bit in every room they'd come across so far, they continued deeper inside the cave and she continued plucking glowing mushrooms off the wall till they came to an open area covered in snow where another sleepless draugr walked across the path.

Quintessence quickly fired some firebolts and Faendal let two arrows fly and the draugr was but a memory.

"I think the one's that don't sleep are stronger than the others." Faendal said noting his observation.

Quintessence nodded her head in agreement having just taken noticed of that too. They walked into the open area seeing a pathway that headed down and Quintessence being ever curious as she was said she'd be right back.

Faendal just waited for her on the snow covered path. Although he was enjoying slaying draugr with his mage friend more than he would've ever thought possible, he still just wanted to get out of the ruins and head back to the safety of his home in Riverwood.

"Found anything?" He asked when she made her way back to where he was.

"A dead skeever, a chest with a few gold and a healing potion, a fury poison, and some bones."

Faendal nodded and the two continued up the path out of the area back into the cave the ruins had been seemingly built around or on top of. The two exited the cave area a short while later being back inside the ruins they'd really never left and Faendal sighed wondering when the hell they'd get out of here.

Quintessence smirked at the Bosmers growing impatients and held a hand out before he entered the chamber pointing to a draugr that paced back and forth inside of the room.

"It's another restless one." She whispered.

"So we'll call the stronger one's restless draugr then?" Faendal asked thinking the name sounded rather fitting.

"I don't care what we call them, the only good draugr in my book is a dead one, and I mean really dead. Let's help this guy get some sleep." She smirked pulling the Nordic bow from her back she'd taken from one of the draugr a while back.

Faendal smirked agreeing with her statement and pulling out his bow as well, they took aim and let their arrows fly, both of them slamming into the restlees corpse and causing it to let out something like a growl as it turned it's cold glowing pools of blue towards them.

Turned out this draugr wasn't your average restless variety, he was very strong and the two only begun to realize as much when the seventh arrow crashed into it and it continued to approach them. Faendal attempted to pull his sword and shield from his waste but the creature brought it's axe up tearing into Faendals shoulder and forcing a loud cry of pain to leap from the mouth of the Bosmer.

It raised it's axe clearly intending to finish the man off and Quintessence quickly grabbed the sword from his hip raised it over her head to block the draugrs strong blow which pushed her back a bit. She struggled to hold the guard up against the draugr as it continued to push down against the blade and she felt her arms and legs weakening threating to give out at any second.

She momentarily cursed herself for dedicating years of her time to perfecting her skills with the arcane arts but never sparing any time to work on her strength and perfect her skills as a swords woman.

"Listen to me Faendal, I can't hold this guy off much longer, you've gotta move!"

Faendal grit his teeth and decided to do her one better. Letting go of his injured shoulder he used his left hand to grab the dagger at his waste and rushed forward stabbing it into the draggers chest with all the strength he could muster, causing the creature to stumble backwards slightly and let loose an intelligible growl that might have been words or a curse of some sort.

Quintessence quickly dropped his sword and duel caste a thunder bolt which hit the creature dead center in it's chest and sent it flying backwards to slam against the wall inside the other room. Much to her surprise the creature started picking itself up slowly from the floor, she cast two fireballs and launched them at the creature causing the room to shake from the impact of the fiery explosions

When the flames cleared the draugr lay burning on the floor and she could no longer feel the ancient magic inside it's now empty shell. She turned to Faendal and began healing his wound, the wood elf sighed in relief as the warm magic flooded his being erasing the pain he felt from his wounded shoulder.

When she finished she slapped him lightly across the face causing him to open his eyes and frown.

"What was that for!?" He yelled unfond of being slapped for nothing, or just being slapped at all.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked surprising him.

"Two." He said tilting his head and looking at her like she might be losing her head or something.

She repeated the process three more times sighing in relief and asking him was he light headed to which he remarked no. She pulled out a minor healing potion and gave it to him telling him to drink.

He looked at her oddly wondering why when the wound had already been healed till he realized she thought he might have lost a dangerous amount of blood. He chuckled softly offering her the potion back and she frown repeating herself and telling him to drink. He sighed relenting to her demand and drowned the potion admittedly feeling better and more clear headed after he'd done so. She smiled and patted him on the back remarking that that wasn't so hard to which he just smirked and looked at the big scar on his shoulder curiously.

"Another souviner I take it?"

"Oh yea, Camilla's going to love that one whenever she gets you out of your shirt." She said grinning at him playfully.

Faendal just blushed and averted his eyes hoping that she wouldn't see his cheeks light up.

"Good job though Faendal, for someone who claims not to be a warrior you damn sure have the heart of one."

He grew a little self conscious as he played the events of that fight back in his head and realized he'd just acted without thinking. His family would've been proud of him no doubt but he just hoped his story would impress Camilla and she'd be as attracted to his scars as his companion seemed to think.

They walked into the room where the draugrs corpse lay against the wall in a charred heap and he asked her why she seemed to think as much as she began working at a chest on the right side of the room with a lockpick.

"Because you gained the scars for her sake and everytime she see's them she'll be reminded that you were willing to risk your life for her. It'll just make you seem all the more attractive to her and plus some women are attracted to scars."

"They'll let her know that while you're the sweet sensitive and caring individual she see's you as, you still know your way around a blade and aren't afraid to use one when necessary. Trust me Faend, she'll love them." She said finally getting the lock open and smiling at whatever it was she saw.

Faendal had to admit that made a lot of sense and the thought of it made him smile. Quintessence was smiling for another reason though, inside the chest was a pair of dwarven boots of muffling which she could no doubt sell for a fair price, sixteen gold, a lesser soul gem and a weak magicka poison, in other words jackpot. Not a bad haul at all for just one chest.

"I don't wanna force you to continue on with me and further if you don't want. So here's the golden claw and a potion of fury I found, you can coat one of your arrows with that and run past the bandits at the tower while they're busy fighting each other.

Faendal smiled at her kindness and took the golden claw waving it in the air before putting it inside his satchel.

"Thanks but this is all I need now come on, we've still got a treasure to find don't we? I've already got what I came for it's only right I stick this out with you and besides, I wouldn't want you starting rumors that I lack a sense of adventure now would I?" Faendal said smirking at Quintessence.

She couldn't help but laugh at the man as she nodded and thanked him for his courage before they walked through the door and continued further inside the ruins. After walking for a short while they turned a corner where four axe's were coming out of the wall in a constant swinging motion.

Faendal knew what to do since they'd encountered a similar obstacle earlier inside the ruin and he waited for Quintessence to walk forward knowing she'd get through and disable the trap for him to follow.

"I can sense draugr in that room Faend, we'll need to be careful." She whispered and he nodded croaching and placing and arrow inside his bow.

Quintessence nodded and croached as well, approaching the axe's and rolling once and just like that she was pass them flipping some sort of switch Faendal couldn't see.

The axe's stop and Faendal walked forward, by the time he entered the room she'd already killed and looted one draugr at her feet. She walked into a small room to the right grabbing a draught of the cold from the table and putting it inside her bag.

They walked deeper inside the chamber and heard foot steps coming from the platform above, Quintessence shot an arrow into the wood beside the steps and they heard the grow of a draugr before they saw it showing up to investigate. Two arrows later it was sliding down the steps right before the two of them began making their way up.

Upon reaching the top of the steps they were greeted by another draugr but Faendal quickly unsheathed his sword and shoved it through the chest of the draugr before it'd had any time to react. Quintessence smiled and shot the man a look of approval, he had every right to call himself a warrior after today or at least a slayer of undead.

She quickly looted the corpse and they continued over a bridge through a hallway into a small chamber that held a set of iron doors.

Quintessence pushed the door open and the entered an impressive chamber with two brazers and a set of candles on the left and another iron door at the end with what looked like symbols for creatures on the door inside three separate rings. She turned the ring at the bottom and realized the door was a puzzle of some sort, there were three holes of varying size inside a circle at the center that looked like keyholes of some sort.

"The golden claw! It must be the key to this door, see what the symbols are on it's underside Faendal."

Faendal pulled out the claw and handed it to her and she arranged the symbols in the correct order before sticking the claws into the holes and twisting. She heard something within the door click and removed the claw passing it back to Faendal.

The circles all turned landing upon the same symbol and the door unlatched from the wall began falling as years and years of dust fell with it forcing Quintessence and Faendal to cover their noses and squint their eyes.

The door finally lowered fully and the two stepped inside walking to the top of the stairs case on the other side and continuing onward until they entered a large rather impressive chamber with a large ancient wall in the back that drew the Bretons interest more than the chest beside the sarcophagus did for some reason.

Upon approaching the platform at the center of the room where the wall the sarcophagus and the chest sat Quintessence felt the same ancient magic that'd powered the draugr inside of the chest and told Faendal as much asking that he stay out of the fight whenever the draugr emerged which he was hesitant to agree to but did after much convincing.

She didn't know why but she felt like this fight was personal for some reason and she wanted to be the one to slay the draugr with her own hands, she wouldn't even call on any dremora for assistance. She felt like she needed to prove herself but to who or what she honestly had no idea.

She moved to the wall in the back of the room which seemed to be whispering to her, the whisper got louder and louder as she approached till it began to drown out everything and she began to lose all awareness of her surroundings till there was nothing else.

Her mind went foggy and her vision went black until there was nothing else, just her and the word which seemed to speak to her.

She reached out a hand to touch the wall and the word seemingly slammed into her causing her head to spin for a moment till her vision cleared and she became aware of the word repeating itself inside her head.

She could hear it's whisper clearly now it repeated the same word over and over again with perfect clarity...Fus.

She heard it but she couldn't understand...it pulled at something within her. Trying to awaken something deep in her being that was seemingly asleep. Oddly enough it's whisper seemed calming soothing even as if it'd been with her all her life.

The word belonged to her, it was hers but for the love of Talos she could not understand what meant.

The lid to the sarcophagus behind her was pushed to the ground and she turned seeing a powerful looking draugr that almost scared her standing to exit it's resting place.

"Faendal!" She yelled holding her hand out and he threw her his sword.

She rushed towards the draugr just as it stood and brought it's sword forward, she ducked out of the way taking a swipe at it's unprotected side which served to do little more than scratch it's armor. Her eyes widened as she quickly rolled out of the way of another attack amazed that her strike had barely done any damage at all.

Quintessence was no swordswoman but she had formal training and she knew she wasn't weak. In a one on one battle she'd likely be able to take down most bandits with a one handed weapon, this draugr before her was just ridiculously strong in all likely hood.

 **"Zun Haal!"** The creature shouted and Quintessence felt Faendals sword pulled from her hand by some invisible force.

The creature was upon her a moment later with it's weapon raised above her head and coming forward in a downward swing, thinking fast she quickly caste a conjuration spell of her own creation.

A staff of ether formed in her hands raised over her head blocking the draugrs strong swing and nearly throwing her off balance. She pushed against the creatures sword and twisted, slamming one of the ends into it's chest and causing it to stumble a bit.

She quickly rushed forward attempting to catch it off balance but it raised it's hand sending a blast of frozen air in her direction as she approached forcing her to quickly back away.

The creature righted itself and rushed forward and she spun the staff twisting her body with it, knocking the draugrs legs out from underneath it. She raised the staff and brought it down hard on it's abdomen channeling sparks through it, damaging the creature and draining it's magicka.

She pushed down with all her strength hoping to tear a hole right through the draugrs stomach but to her surprise it placed it's hands on the staff and began lifting against her. Quintessence grit her teeth as she pushed down with all her strength and most of her weight but the draugr just continued to force the staff upwards.

Thinking quickly she changed the element to fire and the draugr let out a growl of anger at the change in element as the flames weakened it's fingers and the staff was slammed back down hard.

The creature took a deep breath and Quintessence braced herself knowing it had something in store for her.

 **"Fro Krah!"** A blast of freezing cold air errupted from the draugrs mouth surprising Quintessence and pushing her back.

She felt herself tire as she felt a pain all over her body after being slammed with the chilling breath of frost but she wouldn't allow it to get the better of her. She held her hand up shooting a barrage of flames at the creature holding her bound staff in the other backing away from the approaching draugr.

It let out a challenging growl and rushed her faster and she quickly turned to the side calling on the last remaining vestiges of stamina that she possessed as she ran to gain some distance. She turned around allowing her staff to fade and pooled her magicka into her hands wishing she'd have learned the expert level fire spell instead of just learning thunderbolt and wall of storm.

She unleashed the fireball and the draugr unleashed another breath of frost and the two collided in the air creating an explosion of fire and ice and a fine amount of steam.

Putting her hands together again Quintessence felt a gratitude towards the divines pooling the last of her magicka into another thunderbolt she barely had the magicka left to duel caste.

She let the thunderbolt fly and it crashed into the draugr sending it flying against the word wall behind her and falling to it's knee's. She began walking towards it and used the last of her magicka to pull Faendal's sword towards her hand with telekenesis. She stood over top of the kneeling draugr and smirked lightly as it looked up at his with a sort of acceptance or resignation in it's cold glowing orbs.

She raised the blade and brought it down with a cry cleaving clean through the creatures neck and watching as it's body fell to the ground and it's head rolled onto the floor, the errie glow of it's eyes now gone.

She blink once then twice and nearly fell over feeling more tired that she thought she should be, she pulled a stamina potion from her satchel and downed it's contents as Faendal quickly made his way over towards her.

"That was amazing! Had I not seen it with my eyes I'd have never known you were such a fighter! Where'd you learn to wield a staff like that?" Faendal asked never seeing something quite like the way she'd fought with a staff before.

"My father taught me after I finally convinced him swords and axe's weren't really for me." She said too tired to return Faendal's enthusiasm.

"He must have been some warrior then, I was puzzled for a moment when you summoned a staff but when you started using it I could immediately tell that it was your weapon of choice."

Quintessence shrugged. "He really was quite the fighter, I doubt there was anyone who lived during that time that could match him in combat. Be it with a weapon or a spell, naturally he made sure his only daughter be proficient in the art of a blade and at least decent in other things."

Faendal nodded, her comment giving rise to a question within his mind.

"You said during that time, you make it sound as if it was another era?"

Quintessence developed a wide smirk and didn't bother to respond to or answer his inquirey. She reached towards him giving him back his sword and stooped down over the draugr and began searching it.

Faendal figured he wouldn't be getting an answer so he just choose to remain silent and wait to she'd finished looting the draugr and the chest beside it sarcophagus.

She pulled a small amount of gold from it's armor, a weak stamina poison, a honed finely crafted ancient Nord greatsword of cold and a stone tablet with what looked to be a map with weird markings.

"What's that?" Faendal asked curious about the stone tablet.

"I don't know but it might be worth something if I can find someone who does know what it is, I'm sure this draugr kept it with him for a reason." She said putting the tablet inside her satchel and offering Faendal the draugrs sword.

He raised an eyebrow wondering why she didn't keep it when she smirked at him again and he understood.

"Another souvenir huh?" He said returning the look and grabbing the blade figuring he'd might as well keep it if she was offering. It'd serve as real proof besides his scars to anyone who doubted the story he'd have to tell after today.

She moved toward the chest after Faendal took the blade and relieved the draugr of it's strap so he could fasten it to his back. Inside the trunk she found an elven shield, two hundred and thirty five gold, and best of all a necklace of minor health. There was also a pair of leather gauntlets and iron boots and she took the boots but left the guantlets.

They made their way up a set of steps into a small cave like passage at the top curious to see where it lead. She pulled a handle sitting inside of a pedestal and the stone wall moved and shifted out of the way revealing a passage way they proceeded to walk through.

Quintessence jumped down from the small ledge and saw a chest to the right she was pleased to find fifty six gold, magicka potion and a ruby inside of, there was also an altar with a skull surrounded by flowers with a flower wreath at the bottom but she left that alone and the two proceeded to exit the cave.

The two both smiled and exhaled deeply, happy to be reunited with the cool cripse air of Skyrim. Faendal nearly paled upon noticing they were on the edge of a low cliff.

"How are we going to get down from here?"

Quintessence looked at him questioningly.

"We're gonna jump and climb of course, follow my lead." She said walking towards the right and doing just that.

Faendal followed her watching his step as she instructed but likely being more careful to do so than she was. The two then began walking through the woods together on their way back to Riverwood before Quintessence said they should cross the white river at a specific point before the tides got too rapid.

Faendal followed her lead and crossed beside her and she held her hand out towards him.

"Huh, you're leaving from here?" He asked not quite understanding where she was going.

"Yup, I set up camp in the woods not too far from here and it'd be counter productive of me to head back towards Riverwood with you knowing that I'd just have to walk back down the road."

"Surely you found enough gold to have earned yourself a stay at the local inn?" Faendal said not understanding why she'd choose to sleep in the woods if she didn't have to.

"I did, but I actually prefer my current lodging. I appreciate the concern though."

Faendal nodding after a moment wishing he could convince her to stay at the inn where she'd be more safe but relenting that the choice was hers. He felt as if he owed the woman a lot and it seemed like they were both good friends even though they'd only known each other for a short time.

"Well I hope you'll stop by Riverwood tomorrow so you can be there with me when I give Camilla back her claw."

Quintessence raised an eyebrow that he probably couldn't see in the dark.

"Weren't you going to take the credit for it's retrieval?" She asked curiously.

"Only as much as I deserve." Faendal remarked with a smirk she could see just as clearly in the dark as she'd have been able to see in the light of day, perhaps even better.

"Well then I'll be there, meet me at the mill and we can head on over to the Riverwood trader together."

"Sounds great." Faendal said grinning and shaking her hand before telling her to look out for herself in these woods.

"And you do the same on the road." She remarked stiffling a laugh at his comment considering she was the most dangerous thing inside these woods.

The two parted ways and Quintessence walked up the hill path a short distance away opening the door to the mine and began walking towards the back.

The captain was laying down staring at the ceiling and feeling somewhat uneasy when she heard a voice she'd come to despise entering the room.

"Miss me much Imperial?" The Breton questioned sitting down on the sleeping mat she never planned on using since she didn't require sleep.

The captain looked up and scowled at her but said nothing, she just continued to look at the ceiling.

"So you aren't going to ask me about my day?" Quintessence asked unable to help the grin that made it's way to her face.

The captain wanted to say bite me but considering what happened earlier she thought better of it and decided to say nothing which really didn't bother the Breton as much as she would have thought.

"You know if you refuse to eat I'm going to force you to eat eventually." She said gazing at the bowl which sat on the wooden bench still as full as it'd been before.

"Awww, what's the matter captain? You look tired and sad, do you want to talk about it?" She teased in a sickly sweet voice that made the Imperial hate her all the more.

Quintessence sighed seeing the captain was done playing her game and she moved towards her.

The captains heart leapt as the woman stooped down over top of her and looked at her curiously.

"So the silent treatment is it? Oh my dear Imperial, you do know how to punish a girl don't you? I've had a long day and I come back home hoping you'll be willing to have a nice conversation with me, but no, I can't even get a snarl or a glare. Have I not been a kind hostess towards you my dear?"

The captain couldn't help the glare she shot the woman at her comment, she knew if she stopped giving her what she wanted she'd just kill her soon but she couldn't help projecting the hate she felt towards the woman outside of her body somehow.

Quintessence only smirked seeing she'd managed to get through to her somehow.

"If it weren't for you you know I'd be sitting in a nice cozy little inn right now sipping on some watered down med a toasting to myself over my long life with a bottle of wine."

She really couldn't help it this time as her glare grew twice as cold and three times as hot.

"And if it wasn't for you I'd be sitting inside of an Imperial fort somewhere having a mug of ale with the other captains! I wouldn't be laying on my back constantly like some worthless whore or a helpess child!"

"Or you'd have died in some Stormcloak raid by now or died at the hand of that dragon. Was your old life really so satisfying or was it just the one you settled for?"

The captains eyes flashed with a bit of surprise at her words and Quintessence could tell she'd struck a nerve there and she pressed onwards.

"Someone who's happy with the way their lives turned out would have no reason to sentence people to their deaths for no reason. Nor would they have reason to be a cruel and sadistic bitch who just looks down on other people for no reason. I don't believe that you're just that cruel by nature, I can smell psychopaths a mile away. So tell me captain..what's your story, I don't mind listening?"

"Quit talking to me as if you know me wench! I've no reason nor obligation to explain myself to you! If you wanna hear a damn story go find a book or something Elder Scroll, just leave me the hell alone! I'm tired of seeing your trash bin of a face!" The captain yelled mad she couldn't even turn her head away from the woman.

Quintessence crouched directly above her as well so there was no avoiding looking at her, she just glared praying Stendar have mercy and get this sadistic little bitch out of her face.

Quintessence smirked and leant down giving the woman a peck on the cheek and stroking her hair gently as if she were a child.

"Is my little Imperial having a bad day?" She said adopting that sickly sweet teasing voice.

The captain just closed her eyes and breathed deeply attempting to calm herself. The woman was playing her right into her hand yet again, and the bitch had the nerve to call her sadistic, she could hardly believe it.

"It's okay... you'll tell me about it when you want to. For what it's worth there's no healing magic in the world strong enough to heal your spine or I would have done so already. I could always just leave you here with Ramond and Chopper and end the charm, but those two wouldn't treat a fragile lil thing such as yourself as kindly as I do would they?"

The captain said nothing, deep down she really hoped the woman wouldn't be so cruel as to do something like that but, what would she do after having her fill of fun anyway?

She said after she no longer provided her with entertainment she would kill her, but would the woman who was causing her so much grief really be so merciful? She honestly doubted it, she'd likely do exactly what she'd just said and the captain would find herself wishing she'd killed her or left her to die back at Helgen.

"Just kill me." She said weakly wishing she could hide the tears touching the corner of her eyes when she thought about her future, or her lack of future for better words.

Quintessence pulled the woman's head under her neck and hugged her whispering that'd it would all be okay.

"No need to worry captain... I'll never leave you with bandits who possess their own free will and I really will claim your life eventually. As long as you live I'm confined to this mine just as you are, and I didn't come to Skyrim to live a life no better than that of a common bandit."

The captain didn't know why but she felt strangely comforted by the woman's words even if she knew she couldn't trust them. She allowed herself to fall asleep in the woman's arms knowing while she was there there was at least no chance of her waking up to the charmed bandits slipping out of the spell that held them and raping her.

Quintessence laid the woman down gently when she was sure she'd fallen asleep. Tomorrow she'd be leaving the small town of Riverwood to head to the city of whiterun in search of work that could earn her coin.

What that meant for the captain yet she didn't truly know, she wasn't quite done with the woman yet but she knew she couldn't travel with her as she was. She refused to leave her here with Ramond and Chopper, even if the bandits were forever charmed now the captain was always on edge when Quintessence wasn't around.

She simply wanted to teach the woman a lesson not constantly scare her to death. The captain had already learned and attempted to apologise but Quintessence couldn't help but think there was more she could do with the captain.

She smirked and sat on the wooden bench crossing her arms and legs. She didn't require sleep so she had all night to think about that.

 **I wrote all of the draugr involved fight scences in this chapter how they really happened in the game besides the last one of course. I only wish my newly created level seventeen character had unique and adept level spells. Usually Faendal doesn't help me much in fights, I think he was showing off for you guys lol he made me proud, but besides the charms and the spells I'm writing the fights as they happen. In place of a bound bow I have a long bow and in place of expert and adept level destruction spells I'm just using flames and sparks lol** **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


	5. The Golden Claw-Ending

**I wonder how many people who read this have started to feel for the captain. How many of you want to see her suffer or how many of you are curious what Quintessence is going to do with her? I bet you guys thought she was being treated cruelly till you saw how Quintessence treated the dunmer in bleak falls barrow lol** **Keep in mind she didn't even dislike the guy, she just didn't like the fact he lied to her. She doesn't dislike the captain either if you guys were wondering. (This fic is not for the fient of heart)**

 _A new life a new beginning_

The suns light was finally just breaking through the thick cloud of darkness that came with it's fall below the horizon.

Quintessence nearly winced as it's rays touched her skin but after hundreds of years of being under the sun which was her kinds greatest weakness she hardly really felt it anymore.

She still didn't understand why weaker vampires avoided the daylight like the plague, after years of avoiding something you'd naturally become weaker to it over time. The sun still weakened her as it did any vampire but just barely at this point, she'd built up an immunity to it.

She stood out front out the mine feeling more comfortable outside in the fresh cool air of Skyrim than the stale dust filled air of the mine. She could've slept last night but she'd decided not to do so. At first she was busy deciding what way to best go about the captains fate, it hadn't taken her long to come to a sound conclusion concerning what she'd do.

She'd been contemplating it since she escaped Helgen and looked to the dremora carrying the woman in it's arms. Really she had a number of options but only two she was considering at the moment, the one she chose would all depend on the captain.

After standing outside and thinking for a moment she'd snuck into Riverwood in the dead of night to feed off of Alvors wife just as a way to kill time. The woman smelled good and she looked pretty enough, her blood had a sweet taste to it and she inwardly complimented the blacksmith on his fine taste.

After that she'd come back to the woods around the mine and went on a short hunt catching a fox and a rabbit. The fox she killed and skinned, the rabbit she hit with a calm spell and charmed it shortly afterwards.

Usually charms didn't work on creatures and animals but rabbits were one of few they actually could effect. She stood leaning against the stone wall outside the mine and petting that rabbit now which sat calmly inside her arms recognizing the woman as it's new master.

She wasn't really attracted to cute things, she just didn't see any real purpose in slaughtering the thing. She'd contemplated venturing back to Helgen just to kill time while she was waiting for the small town of Riverwood to wake up but decided against it. There was no telling who or what now inhabited the area, not that she was scared, she just didn't feel like dealing with unforseen problems at the moment.

Right now she was contemplating her capture at the hands of the Imperials and the events that followed. She'd just surrendered when she'd been caught attempting to illegally cross the border figuring she'd spend a day or two in a holding cell and have to pay a small fine. Not only did the bastards basically rob her of all her possessions but they'd nearly taken her life as well.

Honestly though that was the lesser thing she'd been thinking about. The dragon that free'd her and also sought her death was what really weighed heavy on her mind. Why did the creature seek her death, why did she feel weird when she thought about it?

In her long years of life she'd seen a number of unbelievable and terrifying sights a lot of which she didn't care to remember, but the dragon. She couldn't help but feel drawn to it for some reason, not for curiousity sake but for reasons she couldn't explain.

She wanted to hate the creature for confusing her so much but found she couldn't, she had no reason to. It didn't help that it sounded so happy after burning Helgen to the ground. That roar of freedom had made her heart swell for some reason, like she was glad for the creature, like it's happiness really meant something to her she couldn't explain.

She frowned at the annoying feelings she couldn't place as well as her aggravating thoughts and held a hand out releasing a thunderbolt and some of her anger with it tearing through the base of a tree. The rabbit in her arm jumped, startled by what'd just happened but it didn't leap from her arms or attempt to run away. The mark of a strong charm being placed on the creature.

The tree began tipping over falling to the ground with a loud crash. She wondered if a tree fell in the woods and only she was around to hear it, as far as anyone else was concerned did it make a sound?

Quintessence said her apologies to the goddess of nature hoping Kynereath wouldn't frown upon her too heavily for purposely destroying that tree. She really couldn't help but to relieve her anger somehow at the moment but one should never disrespect nature. From nature kynereath gifted mortals with everything they could ever need for survival.

After saying her apologies she continued to stroke the rabbits fur ignoring her infuriating thoughts of the creature she didn't understand but for some reason wished she did. That dragon and she definitely hadn't seen the last of each other, that much was a certainty.

She sniffed the air catching a whiff of the faint smell of ozone that hadn't come from her blast just now.

She could tell the difference because all her lightning spells were highly augmented, they smelled like pure ozone. The smell of lightning on the air she smelled underneath hers had a smell of static to it, a weaker lightning spell, or average but weaker as far as she was concerned.

She sat the rabbit down and pointed to the cave, it took her signal and went inside. Chopper and Ramound would recognize it was charmed same as they were and they'd likely leave it alone.

She figured she might as well give it to Faendal later and he could give it to Camilla if she was into cute things.

She walked down the hill and smelled flesh being burnt by a zap spell, she smelled fire in the air as well and grinned wondering who was having magical duel nearby. The smell was coming from across the river she was sure, she called on a vampiric gift she hardly ever used sending magicka to the entire lower half of her body.

She jumped over the lake levitating to the other side and landing roughly as she hadn't used that ability in a while. It was never one she was truly comfortable with in the first place.

She began walking up the side of the hill and saw lights coming from further up. She saw a dunmer fire mage battling a human shock wizard, both of the two holding up wards as they blasted spells towards each other completely unaware of her presence.

She smiled upon realizing that the fire mage was losing. Whenever faced with an opponent of equal strength and knowledge when it came to destruction spells, whoever used the shock spells would always win since it did the most raw damage and depleted magicka.

She stood there watching them slug it out with adept level spells till the human finally did away with the Dunmer.

"That outta show you not to mess with a-"

The woman froze upon turning and seeing Quintessence looking at her curiously. She summoned sparks back to her hand and shot a blast of lightning at Quintessence who raised a steadfast ward blocking the spell.

Undettered in the slightest the woman put her hands together and began to double cast a blast of chain lightning if Quintessence was to guess at the power coming from the spell.

With the same hand she'd been using to hold her ward in place she cast an expert level alteration spell known only among her family as far as she knew. A translucent barrier formed around the woman and she waited for the mage to let go of her pathetic sparks.

The woman let the blast fly towards her and she lifted her hand allowing it to slam against her barrier before flicking the spell to the side.

The redirected chain lightning bolt slammed into the wall beside the woman and Quintessence began walking fowards wondering if she'd try that again or perhaps another spell.

"W-Wha... but how'd you-"

"It's an alteration spell my father taught me called magic reflection. I can cast it like a lesser ward or like an iron skin spell, it's pretty useful against mages as you can imagine." She said smiling at the woman's fear.

"Who are you, what do you want!?" The mage asked knowing she was outclassed.

"No one and nothing really...I was bored, but I would appreciate those robes you're wearing. I've grown rather tired of these." She said gesturing to her worn novice robes.

The woman looked down towards her own dark hooded robes of destruction and looked back up frowning.

"You don't just expect me to strip and give you my clothes do you???" She said sounding more than a little indignant at her suggestion.

Quintessence pointed to the dead man with a pair of similar robes that just lacked a hood.

"It's not like you won't have anything to wear afterwards, and I actually I do expect you to do just that. That or you can meet your death in these woods like your friend over there."

The woman scowled at her and lifted her hands launching two more bolts of lightning.

Quintessence didn't move, the bolts crashed into her barrier and rebounded taking the woman off her feet.

"Not a bright one are you?" The Breton asked moving towards the woman and casting a paralysis spell.

"Ever had the life drained from you slowly wench?" She asked standing over the woman and smiling at her wickedly.

"You see vampires are able to do so either by drinking your blood or with a spell that's called vampiric drain."

Her eyes flashed red as she used the woman's fear to freeze her to the spot knowing the paralysis wouldn't last long.

"I've gotten so good with the spell over the years aside from just draining life force I can drain magicka too, and unfortunately for you reflect isn't easy to cast. Aside from casting cost it uses an equal amount of magicka that was used to cast any spell that hits me to deflect it. Those lightning bolts you hit me with took a bit of magicka to deflect."

The woman's chest began beating rapidly at the implications of what this woman was about to do. Quintessence felt her fear, the one thing a mage feared more than anything was being out of control.

"Don't worry though I won't kill you." She said as she begun casting the spell.

The woman felt her life essence and the remainder of her magicka slowly being sapped from her and began to wish she'd have just given the woman her robes when she had the chance.

She was barely clinging to consciousness when the Breton stopped minutes later. She began undoing the woman's robes and eventually slid her out of them. She spared her a grin as she changed right there in the clearing and turned to her as she finished.

Quintessence released the charm on her a while ago when she knew the woman no longer possessed the vitality to move let alone fight back.

When she was comfortablely changed into the robes she looked at the woman and contemplated what she should do with her. Healing magic couldn't restore life force only time and rest could do that. Quintessence wasn't in need of the woman's life force or Magicka, she'd just felt like taking it.

The woman was going to die here at the top of a hill in the woods. She had no reason to save her but she had no reason to kill her either, aside from the fact that the woman had made an attempt to kill her first.

Was everyone wandering the woods of Skyrim so hostile she wondered.

She couldn't help thinking about the three dieties she held above all others. Azura's sphere of Dusk and Dawn was really a fancy way of saying she represented the sphere of balance, which was evident by the sun and the moon some of her statues were known to hold.

Twighlight...the ending of the day and the beginning of the night and vice versa, the only time where the night balanced with the day.

Being a follower of Azura and her teachings she should be just as willing to take a life as she was to save one. The Lady of twighlight wished for all mortals to love her but to love each other as well. It went without saying she didn't love this woman but she was perfectly capable of saving her life at the moment, what harm could it cause?

Then she thought of Kynereath, goddess of the sky the winds and elements. It was rather hard to discern how she would feel about it but considering Kynereath provided the area inside the void for which all of creation to be born into she was likely an Aedra with an appreciation for life.

Then there was Arkay who she figured wouldn't care one way or another. Life, death, it was all practically the same to him. The only thing he was likely unappreciative of was undeath.

Undecided she began thinking about the other divines. Stendar would want her to be merciful and save the woman. Mara would likely want the same thing.

She thought of Akatosh being uncaring but curious as to what she'd decide for some reason. Dibella likely wouldn't care along with Julianos and Zenithar and Talos was a mystery.

She grinned deciding that was how she would decide before looking at the woman and ensuring she hadn't lost consciousness yet.

"Well I'm grateful for the magicka and the life force but I really must be on my way now. I do wish you the best... perhaps you would you like me to pray to Talos and ask that he lend you strength?" She asked looking at the woman critically.

Quintessence wasn't the biggest follower or believer of Talos but she was always curious to see just how many people believed in the former mortal turned God who'd ascended to take Shor's place among the Nordic patheleon.

The woman nodded weakly and Quintessence could see a sliver of hope as she'd done so.

 _"So this woman is a firm believer of Talos then."_

She smiled softly at the woman and told her she'd made the right choice before clasping her hands together and saying a short prayer to Talos for the woman.

She took the dead dunmers robes off and redressed the woman before lifting her up onto her back.

She'd done a lot of killing in the past two days. She needed to keep a good balance somehow or she felt she might end up disappointing Azura. She really had no reason or desire to see the woman live, but she did have a desire to please the lady of twighlight.

She could smell a woman by herself not far from where they were and she figured if she was a hermit she might be willing to look after the mage. She began making her way towards what she knew would likely be a cabin in the woods.

A few minutes later she reached the cabin which actually turned out to be little more than a shack. The woman smelled of old magic and sadness, the kind of old magic that said she was an enchantress.

A sadness that told of some heart wrenching story that'd taken place earlier in the woman's life and lead to her becoming a hermit in the woods of Skyrim. She looked surprised to see Quintessence but there was an underlying suspicion in her gaze.

"What can I do for you child?" She asked when the Breton stopped in front of her.

Quintessence inwardly snickered, she likely had this woman beat by hundreds of years.

"I found this woman in the woods not far from here. She appears to have had some of her life force drained by some vampire who'd likely left her for dead afterwards. I was wondering if you'd be willing to nurse her back to health...she'll likely only need three days rest."

The woman looked at the mage on her back with more than a bit of hesitence before shaking her head no.

"I'm sorry dear but I'm in no condition to care for another. I'm hardly capable of caring for myself anymore in my old age."

Quintessence could hear the lie on the woman's voice. She could practically smell the suspicion and fear coming from the woman. It was obvious this hermit was a mage with something to hide but the Breton hardly cared.

She moved a small amount of magicka to her eyes and used a charm she rarely had any use for, command obedience. The two bandits back at the cave were under a simple seduction charm so powerful they gave her their complete obedience free of charge.

The woman however was a woman...if she wasn't interested in the same sex she'd have to use magicka to seduce her anyway. So she simply decided to take a short cut.

Command obedience didn't take much magicka though so using it was always easy enough.

"You will care for this woman till she's ready to fend for herself again." She commanded knowing the woman really had no choice now.

"Y-Yes ma'am, I will care for the woman till she is once again capable of fending for herself. Please...lay her on the bed." She said gesturing inside the shack.

Quintessence walked inside and laid the woman on the bed before turning and seeing a cellar door on the floor. She could smell a lot of sadness seeping from the cracks. It was likely the place the woman went to contemplate on her life and mule over her biggest regrets.

She shrugged her shoulders and turned away walking back outside and giving the woman a few septums for her troubles although she knew they weren't really something she needed.

She then began walking back towards the white river wasting no time jumping and levitating over towards the other side.

She'd killed a considerable amount of time walking through the woods and now she was contemplating her next move. The Riverwood trader would likely be opening within the next hour, no doubt Faendal was likely up already as was Alvor considering blacksmith's always rose early.

She wondered what it was Faendal usually hunted around here considering there weren't many deer to speak of in these parts and there were already two hunters further down stream.

Her run in with that draugr had made her realize her blade work was a little rusty. She figured she might as well work on that. No swinging aimlessly at a wooden or straw post though, how the hell soldiers were expected to learn and benefit from that she had no idea.

The very act was stupid and a waste of time. Swinging and shooting at inanimate objects had never provided her with any skill boost as far as she was aware of. She summoned a dremora and unsheathed her blade.

"Fight me, come at me with all you've got." She commanded the creature hoping she had what it took to keep up.

"As you wish." The dremora intoned not even hesitating to pull it's blade from it's back and slip into a battle stance.

She summoned a bound blade in her right hand knowing she'd have a better chance with two blades rather than one. Even though she was a mage her father had insisted she learn how to duel weild. She'd been much more enamored with the fencing style he used when weilding a single blade but he'd always pointed out she lacked the patience for that.

She knew bits and pieces of that style but she'd easily die if she attempted to fight the dremora with it.

She and the creature both walked in a circle around the clearing as if sizing one another up. The dremora let loose a rumbling battle crying and charged the mage with it's blade held high.

Quintessence rolled out of the way of the attack and brought her iron sword forward slashing at the ankle of the dremora but it's heavy armor stopped her blade easily. She stood and went into the motion of launching a follow up strike at the creatures neck but it quickly turned around and blocked her blade easily with it's arm.

 _"That's some heavy armor and heavy armor skill."_ Quintessence thought seeing she couldn't even scratch the dremora's armor."

The creature brung it's two handed sword over it's shoulder in a vertical slash swinging the large blade like a one handed sword and forcing Quintessence back.

She quickly rushed forward hoping to make a few slashes at it but the creature lifted it's blade and began slashing at her before she'd gotten close enough to strike.

She stepped under one of it's wide vertical swings and brought her sword forward attempting to pierce it's armor but she succeeded only in stabbing it hard and making it stumble. She'd done no forseeable damage to the creature or it's armor.

She quickly began rapidly slashing at the creature leaving small scratches in it's armor before it'd had the chance to right itself. The dremora smirked and brought it's blade forward with a mighty shout.

Having no time to duck or leap out of the way Quintessencs held her blades up in a block and her eyes widened when the deadric greatsword of the flame slammed into her bound blade and her iron sword. The attack could probably be comparable to the charge of a mamouth.

It pushed her back by a couple of feet knocking her to her ass and it caused her iron blade to fly from her grasp.

"Arrrraaaa!!!" The dremora yelled rushing towards her with it's blade in the air.

Quintessa's heart jumped in her chest and she quickly twirled to her feet shooting shocks out of her limps and slowing the creature a bit as it held up an arm to block the powerful blast. She abandoned her former plan of practicing her sword play with the creature, one mistake and there was no doubt she'd lose her life.

As far as magic was concerned she felt pretty confident of her skill to keep up. She cast an iron flesh spell just to be safe and readjusted her stance holding her bound sword forward and her hand which held a charge of sparks at her side. She began channeling lightning through the bound sword knowing she wouldn't be able to get through the armor otherwise.

The creature rushed forward again and she rolled under it's swing standing and slashing at it's back. It turned it's body bringing the two handed sword around in a horizontal arc. She leapt backwards and let a powerful thunderbolt fly from her left hand that pushed her further backwards into the air giving her just enough space to avoid the powerful swing.

She used her momentum to flip and landed on her feet with all the grace of a Khajit, or a vampire in her case. The dremora had easily shaken off the blast of thunder even though there was a bit of smoke coming off it's armor. The creature was in front of her the moment she'd landed launching a powerful vertical swing which she quickly side stepped, it brought it's blade up and swung towards her mid section.

She spun out of the way and quickly twisted in the opposite direction planting a hard kick in it's face, she danced around further towards it's left as it'd brung it's blade back around for another horizontal slash.

She could move and manuver way quicker in her robes than the creature could move in it's heavy armor. She summonded another bound blade and channeled lighting into that one too as she began slashing wildly at the creatures back and sides, dancing around it as it continuesly attempted to get the woman in it's sights again.

The creature let out a loud growl of fustration and turned spinning to the right, moving it's blade around it's body in a circle and nearly cleaving the mage in two with it's manuver. Quintessence smirked and had to give Dagon props, dremora were warriors with practically no equal.

The dremora let out a battle cry and charged the mage again. Quintessence stood where she was and raised her blades over her head before bringing them down in a vertical arc and sending two crescent shaped blast of lightning at the creature.

It stumbled and was pushed back some as the powerful electricity blast slammed into both it's shoulders. Quintessence could only marvel at it's resilience, that attack would cut through nearly anything else.

The dremora shook it's head willing away the disorientation that'd come with being nailed by such a powerful attack. Quintessence let her bound blades fade and smiled at the creature before holding up a hand signaling it to stop before it rushed her again.

"While I'm definitely enjoying myself right now I think it best if I save some magicka for my road trip later. That was an excellent battle, do give Dagon my regards." She said walking towards the creature and charging a powerful conjuration spell in her hand.

The dremora nodded and she expelled it back to the deadlands which were Dagon's plan of oblivion.

Admittedly she'd been running out of stamina from dodging so many attacks, her magicka pool was still half full. She wouldn't let the dremora know that though, so she'd basically given it something of an excuse.

To think she summoned those things regularly to kill people. Divines, life was unfair for none magic users. She smirked and went to retrieve her iron sword placing it back in the buckle that held it at her side.

By the time she walked to Riverwood from where she was the trader should be open. She began walking down the road stopping to pick the mountain flowers and thistles as she went, she'd even caught a few butterflies on her way.

She arrived in Riverwood and went to go greet Alvor at the forge. He seemed surprised to see she was still around these parts but she'd told him about the adventure to bleak falls barrow and he looked even more surprised.

"Surely you can't be reffering to the same Faendal who's lived here for years? The same Faendal who works at the mill and seems head over heels for the Valarius girl?" Alvor questioned unbelieving of Faendal's bravery.

"Indeed the very same Faendal, he might not look like much but he's definitely got the heart of a warrior and he definitely had the skills to back it up inside the barrow. Probably even saved my ass, although I'm sure I saved his more." Quintessence said adding the last part with a smirk.

"Well I'll be damned! I'd have never known he had it in him! Guess love really does push the limits of what we're capable of." Alvor said laughing at her comment and seeing Faendal in a new light.

"I wouldn't know anything about that, but I do know I wouldn't mind doing it again. It was fun, and he was actually way more reliable than I was expecting."

Alvor nodded at what she was saying before raising an eyebrow.

"Beautiful young woman like you never known love before? You must have lived in the woods all your life eh?"

Quintessence shook her head at the man's question.

"I just haven't found anyone who's ever awakened any kind of romantic feelings within me. Sure I've had plenty of suitors and even a few brave enough to ask for my hand but I've always declined their advances."

"For one I'm not really attracted to weak men and two, I'm unwilling to just settle for the first fool singing my praises to the heavens and filling my ear with a bunch of empty promise's. If the right man ever comes along I'll likely know it's him, but until then the milk drinkers who attempt to gain my favor will continue to find themselves dissapointed."

Alvor let loose a roar of laughter and paused from his work at the grindstone to slap his leg which caused Quintessence to grin. She'd been dead serious but she found it assuming he found her comment so funny, probably the milk drinker part.

"Divines they don't make woman like you these days. I hope my daughter grows to adopt that same attitude concerning men. That was very well said, are you sure you aren't a Nord?"

Quintessence chuckled at his question. "As sure as I am I don't like maces and battle axe's."

Alvor raised a curious eyebrow at her comment.

"So on a scale of one to ten?"

"Zero." She answered back with finality.

Alvor laughed some more before commenting she had to be pretty sure then.

"You seen Faendal yet today?" She asked after the two had a short conversation on why they both agreed swords were more preferable to mace's and axe's.

"I saw him walking over towards the mill earlier. He's likely still over there chopping wood. Not falling for the wood elf are we?" Alvor joked.

Quintessence snorted before shooting him a playful smile.

"Faendal's a great guy and all but I really don't think he's my type. Let your wife tell it though and smithing is your only real woman, she's just the mistress who cooks your meals and sleeps with you."

Alvors laughter was so loud this time Sven and his mother turned to look at them curiously from their porch.

"That sounds like something she'd say but it's actually the other way around. Smithing is the mistress and she's my real woman."

"Oh so you enjoy smithing more?" Quintessence questioned catching the double meaning.

"Not as much as I do sleeping with my wife, it's just smithing takes considerably less energy." Alvor said grinning and thinking of his wife.

"Good taste my friend! Little known secret though-" Quintessence said leaning in to whisper to the man.

"You wife's insatiable sexual appetite can be easily satisfied with a few sips of a stamina potion. Don't even drink the whole thing, just sip it as you go and I garunteee she'll get her fill."

Quintessence backed up just in time to see Alvors face go red as he chuckled slightly.

"How is it you know such a thing?"

"I used to make points for the hell of it when I was first learning alchemy back when I lived in Cyrodile. Me and my father had no use for them so we'd give them away, old men would always come by our house asking for stamina potions and one day much to my dismay my father told me why."

Alvor nodded before looking thoughtful for a moment.

"I'll make you some before I leave later today. The Riverwood trader likely gets a regular shipment as well."

"I-I..uhmm...thanks!" The man said rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"It's no problem at all friend, glad to do it." Quintessence said giving him a friendly smile and leaving the forge and walking across the wooden bridge leading to the mill.

She saw Faendal in his studded armor wearing hide bracers hide boots and a hide helmet. The steel sword he'd weilded yesterday was strapped to his side and the iron shield he'd used was strapped across his back.

"Faendal." She greeted coming to stand behind the man.

To her surprise he hadn't jumped this time. Guess after spending hours inside a tome full of the walking dead there was little inside of a small village that could surprise or unnerve you enough to jump.

"Great to see you made it. How was your rest inside of the woods?" Faendal inquired looking up from the wood he was chopping.

"It was decent I suppose." Quintessence lied having not slept at all.

"So you're still wearing your gear from yesterday I see?" She inquired.

"Yeah..I wanted to enjoy the feeling a bit longer before I went back to commoners clothes. I feel more confident when I'm wearing this for some reason."

Quintessence nodded remarking that he wore the adventures look well, if he liked the armor more than the clothes he'd might as well stick with it. He nodded weakly but seemed unsure.

"Anyway, you ready to go give Camilla her claw back?" He questioned wondering where the black robes she wore had come from. They made her look more intimidating than her eyes and her lips already did coupled with her black hair.

"Ready if you are." She remarked and Faendal chopped one last log before sitting the axe down and proceeding into town with Quintessence behind him.

She had to admit he definitely walked with more confidence and swagger than he'd walked with yesterday. The armor displayed his arms which had been tempered by many long hours of chopping wood and drawing a bow. His loose commoners clothes had always hung off of him giving him the appearance of a skinny wood elf but in the armor he now wore you'd have to be blind to miss the muscles the wood elf bore. His scars from yesterday were on display as well

 _"Good move Faendal, Camilla will definitely love this look."_ Quintessence thought with a smirk the elf couldn't see from behind his back.

The two got across the bridge and began walking towards the trader when an angry voice called out from Svens porch.

Quintessence turned around and saw Riverwoods number one man himself walking in their direction with an angry scowl.

"How dare you give that letter to Camilla and tell her it was from me!" The man shouted once he came to a stop in front of the two.

Quintessence had to remind herself she was inside a town and blasting the man off his feet with a bolt of lightning would likely be frowned upon. Instead she folded her arms and back away slightly attemting to avoid smelling the man's breath again if she could.

"It was from you dear Sven was it not?" She questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but she wasn't supposed to know that! You ruined my chances with the finest woman in Riverwood all for some skinny little elf who spends his days laying in the dirt hoping he can catch some small game to feed himself!"

Quintessa's eyes widened at his comment as did Faendal's. Apparently he didn't know the strapping young man in armor right next to her was said wood elf.

"Faendal is an honorable man, unlike you. I actually told Camilla who the letter was from for her own benefit, and your behavior now onlu reinforces my decision that it was the right thing to do."

"Who the hell cares about right or wrong! You screwed me out of a relationship with Camilla Valarius and I hope you intend to pay for it!"

Quintessence raised an eyebrow at the man and nearly scoffed.

"I intend to do no such thing. I suggest you step aside before I leave the folks of Riverwood wondering where the ash in the walkway came from." Quintessence threaten in a cold tone tired of the man already.

"You aren't going anywhere until I've had some compensation for your actions! Your coin purse doesn't seem to be lacking in weight as it was yesterday, a couple of septums ought to do." Sven said in what he thought was a threatening or intimidating tone.

Quintessence scoffed thid time and raised her hand channeling a number of sparks to her fingertips. She was aware of the small crowd Svens shouts had brung but she was uncaring. She wouldn't kill the man but she'd teach him his place.

Or so she had planned to but Faendal stepped in front of her before she could make any move in Sven.

"What's that you said about some skinny wood elf barely capable of feeding himself?" He questioned causing Sven to look up and grow nervous as he realized he'd been talking about Faendal to his face the entire time.

"I-" Sven didn't have the time to make up an excuse or apologize as Faendal quickly shoved him onto the railing of his mother's porch holding him over it in a manner that had Svens feet off of the ground.

"For your information you pathetic excuse for a Bard, I do rather well when it comes to feeding myself, I only hunt for sport and as a way to follow Bosmer tradition. I work at the mill and I own my house, you sing at the inn for two septums a song and you live with your mother. You don't even buy your own food but you thought to talk down to me when you believed I wasn't around." Faendal let the man go and he fell on his ass looking more than shocked and confused by what'd just happened.

"Go ahead and scurry towards the inn you don't work at or back inside your mother's house you don't own. If you grow the pair to come at me like a man I'll be right here waiting for you whenever you're ready, and oh yeah-"

"This woman here is my friend, she owes you nothing. Your lucky I decided to intervene because what she'd have done to you would have been far more painful and humiliating than anything I could have ever done."

Sven scrambled to his feet and swung at Faendal only to have the wood elf grab his arm and place a foot behind his which he used to trip him.

"That isn't all you have is it?" Faendal said mocking the fallen Nord who got back up and looked ready to throw another blow.

A burst of green light slammed into him causing the crowd to all gasp and look at the Breton who'd fired it.

"You don't really wanna fight Faendal do you Sven?" Quintessence said saving the man any further embarrassment.

Faendal was obviously fustrated and she really didn't want him to end up hurting the poor man so she used a calm spell in the hope of ending the conflict before it really started to get ugly.

"I- no I don't...I apologise for my rude behavior towards you two. I'll be taking my leave now." The now calm Sven said temporarily oblivious to the anger and embarrassment he'd feel later.

He began walking towards the inn and Faendal turned to ask Quintessence why she'd done that before his eyes caught a sight that made him freeze in his tracks. Not far from where they stood beside Svens mother's house was Camilla Valarius on the porch of the Riverwood trader looking at Faendal with an wide eyes.

He suddenly became very self conscious and grew slightly nervous hoping she wouldn't see him as a jerk or an asshole now after he'd been so rough with Sven. He slowly approached the woman and Quintessence stood where she was taking note of how as he got closer Camilla seemingly had to remind herself to breath.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Sven just said some things that momentarily brought me out of character."

"It's okay..Faendal." She breathed looking him over, eyes pausing to rest on the muscles she'd never had any idea he possessed. Then the long scar on his shoulder she wanted to ask about then run her finger across.

Faendal smiled at her comment and went into his satchel pulling out something that made her eyes go wide and took her breath away for a second time.

"Faendal...did you-"

"I had some help from my friend there, honestly I woul-"

Faendal was silenced as Camilla threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him deeply taking his breath away Quintessence noticed.

 _"Hehe, these two belong together."_ She thought strolling towards the inn and preparing to go make those potions for Alvor.

"Hey hold on a sec." Faendal called from behind getting her to turn and look at him curiously.

"Camilla this is my friend Quintessence, I believe you two meant before. She help me retrieve the claw for your I'd have honestly died if I'd have attempted to try it on my own." Faendal said sparing a short involuntary glance at his scar.

Camilla raised a hand to cover her mouth at the realization of where that scar had come from.

"Oh my... I can't thank you enough for your bravery in helping Faendal to retrieve the claw for me. It would have hurt me dearly to have lost him, I'd rather he be alive than to have ever seen the claw again. Please...I'm sure my brother would like to thank you as well?" Camilla said gesturing too the shop in the hopes Quintessence would take some kind of reward for her services.

"It's fine really, I found more than enough gold to compensate me for my services inside the tomb. Like your brother said times are hard, I'd really rather not take any coin for a good deed. I was mostly doing it to help Faendal anyway."

Camilla threw her arms around the woman in a hug of gratitude that surprised both her and Faendal.

"Honestly I can't thank you enough for this. If you're ever in Riverwood do stop by, my brother and I wouldn't mind treating you to a meal or two in honor of your services." Camilla said letting go of the woman and smiling at her as if she were a good friend.

"Will do." Quintessence said smiling and nodding at Faendal.

"I'll be taking my leave towards Whiterun after I take care of a few more matters here. It was really nice fighting alongside you Faendal, may Kynereath bless your uninon." She said waving at the two and grinning as their faces tinted red.

"Right, see you later then and take care of yourself!" Faendal called behind her and she spared him and Camilla another wave before walking inside of the inn she smelled potion reagents coming from whenever the door was opened.

Immediatly upon stepping inside she locked eyes with a blonde Imperial woman who looked at her with a well hidden look of suspicion. Usually Quintessence would pay it no mind, she was wearing black mages robes after all, but this womans look of suspicion wasn't your casual look of distrust towards magic users she expected from most people, specifically people in Skyrim.

This was the look of someone who was hiding something and would do anything to keep whatever it was hidden, much like the hermit in the woods who stunk of age long guilt and barely manageable sorrow. She'd lived long enough to know how to differentiate those looks for one another but she'd also lived long enough not to care about other people's problems and or secrets as well.

She smiled kindly at the woman practically shooting her a challenge with her eyes. Apparently the woman was also old enough or just wise enough to see straight through Quintessence when others wouldn't. She didn't spare her false smile a second glance but she meant her eyes head on with a look that said try me.

Quintessence resisted the urge to smirk and do just that not wanting to cause trouble. Instead she shot the woman a real smile and a look that said touche and they both nodded at each other imperceptably in a way that was missed by everyone else in the inn.

She walked towards the counter taking a moment to admire her skill in Illusion magic. Sven was sitting at a table conversing with someone who'd missed his little scuffle with Faendal, apparently still under the calm spell.

"Can I use your alchemy table?" The Breton asked upon stopping in front of the man she assumed to be the inn keeper.

"As long as you clean up after yourself I don't see why not. Just make sure you don't damage anything." The man replied I the gruff voice of someone who really didn't care.

She nodded and turned walking back towards the table but not before time seemingly slowed as she saw the Imperial woman who was sweeping by the bar lift her head slightly to spare her a curious glance that still vieled more than a bit of suspicion.

Quintessence held her gaze until she passed her completely. She felt herself becoming curious as to what the woman was hiding from the world but not curious enough to try to find out.

She moved to the alchemy table and went inside her bag pulling out some reagents and going to work on Alvor's stamina potions. Around thirty minutes later when she was pouring the last of the third potion into a vail she heard a loud swear which was quickly followed by the rush of air behind her.

She ducked avoiding a punch just in time managing not to even spill a drop of the potion she'd just finished. She placed the cork inside the bottle and placed it inside of her satchel before giving a steaming Sven a look of curiosity.

"You were really going to punch a woman in the face while she had her back turned?" She questioned resisting the urge to smirk at the anger radiating off of the man.

She did smile however when she realized her calm spell had lasted at least thirty minutes. Besides not needing to eat or sleep, great reflexes, enhanced sense's and a number of useful abilities such as charms, being a vampire definitely had it's perks.

"I'll kill you damnit!" The man said pulling the dagger from his hip and glaring at the woman with murderous intent.

"Sven!" The blonde woman called threateningly probably attempting to put a stop to whatever was going on before things got violent.

"It's hardly my fault you decided to embarrass yourself. You could've just left it alone but you had to get upset about it like a child denied some toy because he was being naughty." Quintessence remarked wondering if she should embarrass him a second time that day.

Maybe she'd just charm him and tell him to throw himself into the strongest point of the white river so he wouldn't continue wasting the generosity of the God's by drawing breath. It's not that she disliked Sven, the man was just a waste of space in her opinion.

"Did Faendal take your Camilla away from you, does it hurt my darling Sven? Oh-I know it does. Does the cry baby want a few septums for his troubles" She cooed as if she were talking to a child, jiggling her coin purse in his face and really setting him off.

"Aaahhh!!!" He shouted lifting his dagger and attempting to slash Quintessence in a vertical power strike.

She cast an iron flesh spell and stood still catching his dagger with her hand and smiling as his face morphed into a mask of confusion and disbelief. She could smell fear rising within the man and her smile grew into a smirk as her eyes flashed red and Sven was rooted to the spot by his own fear.

She pulled his dagger out of his hand and kicked the man's legs out from under him cause him to fall. She took twenty septums out of her coin purse and threw them on him before cleaning the remains of her reagents off the alchemy table and giving the inn keep five gold for his generousity.

The entire inn was silent now, most of it's s wondering what spell she'd used that made Svens dagger basically harmless to her flesh. Delphine was the only person present besides Quintessence familiar with alteration, or any form of magic for that matter.

Before the Breton left she spared Sven one last glance and released her charm knowing he wasn't likely to be stupid enough to attack her again. Luckily for him she found him entertaining or she'd have scorched his ass with lightning till his heart stopped just for her to restart it and repeat the process.

She walked to the forge and gave Alvor the stamina potions snickering as the man's face went red but he smiled jovaly and accepted them. They had a brief conversation where she informed him on what'd happened with Sven and he laughed at the so called bards expense.

She bid him adue after telling him may Zenithar bless his works. He replied with and may Kynereath bless your travels causing her smile to turn into a grin. Two days in Skyrim and she'd already made two good friends she thought as she made her way back towards the mine.

It was still only about eleven am going on twelve and she had around nine hours till the sun dropped. She had planned on leaving Riverwood for Whiterun tonight, but there was the issue of the captain to deal with.

She entered the mine and walked to the back finding the captain sitting there looking at the rabbit that sat on her chest with something akin to fondness.

She figured the rabbit brought her some sense of comfort. She'd planned on giving it to Faendal to give to Camilla but in truth she'd forgotten all about the thing. She figured she might as well let the captain keep it if she was already so fond of it.

Another perk of vampirism, muffled movement. The woman had no idea she stood there observing her observe the rabbit.

"Fond of cute things are we?" She asked stepping into the room and inside the captains view.

"No, but I've always had a fondness for all animals." The woman said plainly surprising Quintessence.

"Is this rabbit yours?" She asked looking at her curiously.

The Breton had to take a second to ensure herself her mind wasn't playing tricks. The captain was actually being cordial with her?

"I guess she was but you can have her if you want, keeping pets never really appealed to me." She replied wondering if a simple rabbit had gotten the woman to open up slightly. Or was there more to it than that?

"Hm...I'm hardly in any condition to be keeping a pet. Feels like I'm nothing more than a pet these days." The woman said rather plainly with a tinge of sadness to her voice.

She once again threw Quintessence for a loop. What the hell was she playing at, had she finally broken?

"I'd hardly call you a pet, you're more like an unwilling companion in my eyes." The Breton said truthfully looking at the captain curiously.

Surprising her again the captain chuckled slightly. "I suppose that's a better way of wording it. Whatever helps you stay awake while I sleep at night." The woman said in a way that sounded like she was joking.

"Okay Imperial you're really confusing me here. What the hell happened while I was gone, why are you suddenly acting like a casual aquatintence of mine? I thought you practically saw me as your mortal foe, or even the source of all evil in the world."

"Don't flattered yourself." The captain said chuckling again but it was really more like a laugh this time.

For the first time since meeting Quintessence at Helgen she smiled. The Breton found it didn't offend her at all like her smirk had the moment she'd sentenced her to the death for illegal border crossing.

"Nothing happened really, I just came to terms with everything you've said so far. You aren't the first person I wrongfully sentenced to the block, you likely wouldn't have been the last either. I deserve this honestly. I've prayed to Stendar for mercy since finding myself in this situation, but I realize this is my mercy."

"This is something I brought on myself and I should just be grateful it didn't wind up any worse. If you'll really do as you said and claim my life when you're done with me there's no point in upsetting myself over the inevitable any longer."

"This is my fate...my bad deeds had to catch up with me eventually in some way. You spend more time outside of the mine then you do inside it so I know you'll likely kill me soon. I might as well try to enjoy the last of my moments on Nirn while I can. I lived most of my life being miserable and upset with the world and most of the people inside it. I'd prefer my last moments not be the same."

"Honestly...I'm grateful to you for showing me that. I thought being an Imperial captain made me happy and gave my life meaning, but really it just made me content and gave me a purpose. In the end it meant nothing to me. If I really took the job seriously the five unfortunate souls who came before you would still be alive. It's wrong of me to wish to live when I deserve to die and the people I sentenced to death didn't."

Quintessence was shocked by the woman's words, for the first time since meeting her she actually had no reply to something she said. For a moment the only sound that was heard was the rush of the caves waterfall till Quintessence spoke up again.

"I guess you've had a lot of time to think lately."

"Don't rub it in." The woman said adopting a small smile.

Quintessence chuckled and sat down on the matt across from her.

"So do you still mind telling me your name?" She asked looking at her curiously.

The captain hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth to reply.

"It's Morihatha." She answered.

Quintessence raised an eyebrow. "Like Empress Morihatha the first? Progeny of Emperor Uriel V, sister of Uriel VI, twin to Eloisa and ruler of the empire after her brothers demise?" The Breton questioned leaning closer to the woman.

"Yes, I was named after Morihatha the first although I've never really liked the name. I guess my parents believed me to be destined for great things-oh how wrong they were."

"Well then, would you mind if I called you Moreah, or Empress?" Quintessence asked not finding a problem with her original name but willing to indulge her.

"I think I'd actually prefer that." The captain replied liking how it sounded.

"Well then Moreah." Quintessence said drawing nearer and unsheathing a dagger. "You wouldn't mind if I were to claim your life now would you. I'm a bit pressed for time." She lied without reason. She was a vampire, time was the one thing she had in abundance.

The captain looked surprised but nodded her head giving her consent and closing her eyes.

"I'm glad I got to meet you Elder Scroll. You've made me look at my life from a perspective I'd have never seen on my own. I don't really know you, but I'm glad you're the one who'll end me."

"Oh but this isn't your end Moreah dear it's your beginning." She said shocking the woman when she felt a sharp pain in her neck that felt more like two small flaming needles rather than the dagger she held.

Before Morihatha could comment or come to a realization of what was happening she blacked out from the pain.

Quintessence cut her wrist and gently pulled the woman's head into her lap before placing it over her mouth allowing her blood to flow down the unconscious Imperials throat.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up and looked around without even realizing what she'd just done. Her eyes could see clearly even in the darkened room which was weird to her.

She wondered where Quintessence had went. Hadn't she just said she was going to kill her, why was she still alive? Why did the mine feel empty, why were the brazers out?

The entire mine was shrouded in darkness but Morihatha found she could see just as easily as she could in the day. She stood and just realized she was once again able to move her limbs like she'd never been crippled in the first place, more than that she felt stronger than she'd ever felt before but she also felt thirsty.

It was a thirst she'd never felt before. It nawed at her being but it wasn't insufferable, at least not at the moment.

She began walking towards the area she believed to be the front of the mine. She didn't know if her assumption was right or wrong but she just followed the familiar scent of the Breton woman wondering how she was able to identify her by smell and track it so easily.

She exited the mine and sure enough standing against the rock wall that lead to the mines entrance was the person she happened to be looking for.

"Well it's about time you woke up, you were out for three days." The woman spoke without turning around.

She just stared straight forward looking up at the stars in the sky. Morihatha looked down at her hands and then back up at the sky realizing she saw better in the dark than she'd ever even been able to see in the light before.

"I'm...I'm like you now aren't I? A vampire?" She questioned knowing that was the only explaination.

"Indeed you are Empress. I hope you haven't lost your appetite for death because we're to set out to Whiterun before the sun rises and you'll need a meal to get you started." She said pointing to a tied up and panicked looking Chopper a Remound she could somehow tell were no longer charmed.

She felt her insides screaming at her to drain the two dry. The thirst she'd been feeling before broke to the surface stronger than before compelling her to do the unthinkable.

She walked forward uncaring of the panicked looks of horror on their bound faces or the fear she smelt coming off them in waves. She let go of all her restraint and fell upon the two gorging herself on the blood of the poor bandits.

When she finished she stood above the two empty corpse's with blood dripping down her chin as she just registered exactly what she'd did. She knew she likely wouldn't be thirsty for a few more days but she'd just killed in a way she'd have thought absolutely destestable a short while ago.

She felt wrong, she felt inhuman, but she didn't feel guilty. She felt powerful, she felt whole.

Quintessence walked towards her and gave her a proud smile she was easily able to see in the dark and it made her feel good for some reason. The Breton raised the sleeve of her robe and wiped the blood from her face before pointing towards a set of steel armor complete with a sword and shield.

Let's not waste any time here, we'll need to beat the sun to Whiterun since you're newly turned. Your life starts anew on this day Empress. You gave me permission to claim you and I've done so, no turning back now." Quintessence remarked watching the woman's face and waiting for a reaction.

Much to her satisfaction she grinned wickedly reminding Quintessence of herself.

"As you wish my lady!" Morihatha said moving to hurry into her new armor and begin her new life.

Quintessence developed a grin of her own and looked to the sky apologizing to Arkay and thanking Sheggorath for the woman's surprising acceptance on the matter.

Surely she was a mad woman to be so readily okay with this. Quintessence couldn't help the mad grin that broke out into her face to replace the usual one.

 **I don't hate Sven, I just dislike him.** **Alduin will be making more appearances in this story than he made in canon but they won't start to become frequent until later in the story. We'll see him here and there though but for now the focus will be getting you guys aquatinted with Quintessence and how she interacts with the world.** **Morihatha will have her own reasons for being in the story as well. She'll even get her own character POVs here and there to dwelve into her past and help you guys understand her more although they won't necessarily be important to the story.** **Thanks to everyone who's followed or faved the story so far, you guys give me inspiration to upload faster.**


	6. Before The Storm

**As** **you're reading picture the city's, taverns, Inn's, roads, and towns in this fic bigger than they appear in the game. I always figured one minute in games goes by in around six seconds IRL because everything's suppose to be to be on a bigger scale than it appears in the games.** **Honestly I feel like it only makes sense if I'm going for realism here, and it's more fun that way for me because in a way that's how I see the games** **anyway.**

 _Before The Storm_

Quintessence and Morihatha's trip along the road towards Whiterun was mostly uneventful. A few wolves here and there, a dear just outside of Riverwood and a gaint on a farm just outside the city along with a band of warriors.

After giving the guards at the city gate some lines about bearing news about the dragon attack at Helgen her and Morihatha had been let inside. The blacksmith forge appeared to be cooling after a days hard work and the inside of the city oddly enough seemed to feel somewhat warmer than it'd been outside it's walls. She looked around and noticing Whiterun was seemingly built onto a hill.

From outside the city the thing that stood out the most was the large palace on top of the hill but one could also see the city districts stretching out from below the walls and reaching higher and higher.

Standing inside the city and looking around one could have a greater appreciation for it. From her place on the cities main street and lowest point besides the jumbles of small house's beside the south wall, one could look to the left and your eyes could just climb higher and higher through the city till finally reaching the palace at the top.

She saw a small Inn on the side of the road labeled the drunken huntsman. Figuring the Inn was likely a place with a few private rooms that were already in use she continued on to the bigger Inn she could see in the distance down the road on the other side of the market place.

Even in the dark the city certainly could be said to have a charm of it's own. Between the glowing brazers and the moonlight it certainly shone enough in the night, not that she needed it to see anyway.

Guards could be seen walking throughout the city in clear sight of one another giving the city an air of security. Once she passed the forge by a bit the air began to smell of spring time, fresh water, and hay.

Quintessence began to wonder how the people of Whiterun would react to a strange traveler wearing the robes of a dark mage walking in their midst.

She wondered if everyone in Whiterun was as prejudice towards magic as the mecenary woman on hire to slay the giant plaguing the farm outside of the city earlier.

Quintessence wasn't too fond of her memory pertaining to the huntress who'd been the head of the group of warriors.

 **Flashback**

The Nordic male slammed his blade through the creatures heart and Morihatha through it's wind pipe.

The gaint shook on the ground going into a spasm of some sort but the two held their blades firmly inside the creature and twisted. It's limbs all went slack simultaneously along with it's head and the rest of it's body. The life faded from it's eyes and all noise within the clearing quickly died off with the gaint that'd been causing most of it.

Quintessence looked on curiously wondering if rampaging gaints were something warriors had to deal with often in this land, and if anyone wanted the left foots big toe.

Morihatha withdrew her blade and moved towards the river intending to wash the blood from it when she found herself stopped by the gaze of the dark haired Nordic warrior who's blade still sat inside the chest of the gaint.

"That was some great courage you showed. Most warriors run at the sight of a gaint but you stopped and decided to help us fight. You'd make for a decent shield sister." He complimented.

"Shield sister?" Morihatha asked looking at the man curiously.

Quintessence approached the group and looked at the gaint feeling a bit of dissapointment when she noticed the toe was pretty mangled as if torn into by a sabre cat.

"Well that's taken care of, no thanks to you." The huntress said from behind Quintessence causing the woman to turn around and narrow her eyes slightly at the Nords tone of voice.

"Excuse me?" She bite out wondering if she'd heard the red head right.

The woman who wore armor similar to the ancient Nordic warriors placed a hand on her hip and observed Quintessence from head to toe before looking at her as if unimpressed.

"Magic is for the weak. No real warrior would need to rely on spells and trickery." She said easily just as easily as someone might tell you what time it was.

Quintessence scoffed before looking at the bow on the woman's back.

"For one who judges others for how they fight you're quick to use the assassin's weapon of choice right after daggers. I didn't know stringing an arrow and standing at a distance from your enemy made you a warrior." Quintessence remarked cooly.

The woman's eyes quickly flashed with a bit of anger as her neutral look was replaced with one of hostility.

"My name is Aella the huntress and while I'm no stranger to sword play I prefer my bow to close quarters combat. At least my method of fighting still relies on my own strength. You magic users have no strength of your own, instead you rely on your spells and rituals to fell your enemies for you. There's no sense of honor in such things."

Quintessence frowned at what the woman was insinuating. It was okay to assume magic users were physically weak because most of them were, but casting spells required a strength of it's own. She'd basically just said the spells a mage knew were what made them strong, not the mages aptitude for casting those spells, and that choosing to fight as they did somehow made them less.

"Remember that magic isn't as easy to cast as people seem to think these days. It requires intelligence, patience, skill, and control. Things the majority of Nords are probably lacking in these days. Really it's no wonder Skyrim shuns magic, most of it's inhabitants likely lack the ability to use it." The Breton said feeling herself smile as the huntress eyes flashed with emotion.

She growled and took a step forward so that she was right in Quintessa's face.

"Come again? The majority of Nords are lacking in what?" She said in a threatening tone that dared the woman to repeat herself.

Quintessence returned the hard glare and prepared to do just that when the woman with the sword and the shield put her arms between the two to slowly pushed them apart.

"Okay ladies, let's all settle down shall we? I think we can all just agree to disagree." She said nervously gazing between the two who both still glared angrily at one another for a few moments before Quintessence turned away seeing Morihatha laughing with the male Nordic warrior about something.

She beckoned the woman back to her side and Morihatha spared the Nord she'd been talking with a glance and a parting smile before the two continued on their way to the city.

 **Present**

Quintessence and Morihatha now sat in a room at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Morihatha had went to the washroom intent on enjoying her first wash since Helgen and Quintessence couldn't blame her considering she planned on doing the exact same thing before she went to sleep.

She didn't need any sleep of course but Morihatha was fully turned and the sunlight would literally burn the skin from her body during her first few days as a vampire. Which meant they'd be handling most of their business dealings during the later parts of the day which Quintessence didn't mind. She just knew the woman would have a lot of questions to ask and she'd rather wait till they were outside the city to answer them.

Perhaps on their way to slay some bandits, fill some soul gems, or just explore the plains outside of Whiterun and see what they had to offer.

The innkeeper had looked at her dark robes of destruction oddly when she first entered her establishment but after a moment she made eye contact with Quintessence and smiled at her gently beckoning them inside and letting them know she had warm beds and ale available.

The breton paid thirty septums for a room she and Morihatha could share declining the red guard woman's offer for a meal in favor of just reaching her room and laying in a bed.

She was still up though as she found she could also stand for a wash. While dirt didn't build up on her skin as easy as it would say a 'living' creature, the breton still hadn't bathed for at least a week and it'd be ahborent not to do so now that she had every opportunity.

The room she'd rented possessed a bed on one side with a small dresser right next to it that had a few candles on top of it and an identical set up on the other side of the room. She'd taken the bed on the right of the room and sat her things next to it so that left Morihatha with the other only bed to choose from.

There were rugs underneath both beds and in the center of the room was a small table with a lantern sitting on it and two chairs at the side. Unfortunately there weren't any dressers or a trunk of any kind but that was inconsequential considering the mage didn't know how long exactly she'd be staying in Whiterun before moving onwards to see more of Skyrim.

Her only goal for herself at the moment was obtain coin. Anything else could wait till later, she'd always survive in the meantime.

Figuring Morihatha would be a while in the washer she stood and opened the door to the long hallway that sat at the back of the Inn and walked towards it's beginning stepping through a set of double doors into the main room of the Inn.

The fire pit in the middle of the floor did a wonderful job of keeping the entirety of the Inn warm. Quintessence found it interesting the main room which contained the fire pit was actually cooler than the rooms at the back and the hallway which lead to them. She figured it was likely the same for the rooms upstairs considering heat was known to rise.

She figured that was why every hallway and every room had a door. To keep the warmth inside of the rooms during the cold winter months. No doubt this room was the coolest of them all because of the constant flow of traffic constantly opening and closing the door that lead inside.

She made her way towards the stool in front of the Inn keeps counter and sat waiting for her to finish cleaning off the mugs the breton was almost certain had never seen any kind of liquid other than wine or ale before.

It was nothing she was entirely sure of but just something she had a feeling about. There was no one in the Inn right now without a tankerd filled with an alcoholic beverage, her nose told her as much.

"Well meant traveler. What brings you to Whiterun?" A blonde man wearing iron armor asked curiously from beside her.

She turned and observed him for a moment coming to the conclusion that he was a Nord. He was handsome enough, much more so than your average Nord. His features where slightly Imperial suggesting of a mixed heritage.

He barred a strong resemblence to a man wearing fine clothes Quintessence had seen as she made her way through the market place. Halfway into his tankerd of ale his bearing was still that of a noble, but not so much that he seemed arrogant or unapproachable.

His eyes held a wisdom beyond his years, and an intelligence to them that said this man had seen and come to understand many things in life.

Quintessence regarded his question thoughtfully not knowing exactly how to answer. Truth be told she didn't know what'd brought her to Whiterun other than her desire to escape the mine around Riverwood, and to find a suitable means of increasing her coin.

While she was no stranger to living off the land she was also no stranger to living in luxury and she found she much preferred riches to roaches. She'd really just come to Whiterun seeking a means to make some coin, nothing really specific.

"I seek my fortune." She said figuring that was the truth of the matter and he might just be able to point her in the right direction.

"Ahhh...so it's gold your after then, you need only ask about it. Plenty of people in Whiterun with too much gold and fat on their hands to do anything for themselves."

Quintessence grinned ignoring the small bit of contempt that'd slipped into his tone at the statement.

"So you live here then?" She questioned figuring she might as well acquaint herself with some of Whiterun's citizens since she'd likely be here for a while.

"Aye, that I do. Have all my life, we battle borns have been here since the beginning, along with the grey manes. Our families been closest kin for generations, but Ulfric Stormcloaks uprising divided us. Now we can scarce look at each other without coming to blows. Petty this, and foolish that, they say dragons have returned to Skyrim. Now that there's a real problem."

Quintessence nodded agreeing that bickering between noble families at a time like so was likely very foolish. However she hardly knew either families or the roots of their squabbles so really she couldn't say.

"Any place I can find work?" She asked figuring there was no way he wouldn't know if his family was really so important.

"Not sure if they're takin on new members, but you should talk to the companions over at their hall in Yrvaskor." He said hesitating a moment before he continued.

"If by work you mean testing your steel in bloody battle."

Quintessence thought. _"Sounds like it could be fun, but Morihatha still needs time to adjust."_ The breton thought.

"Or you could just ask the local Inn keeps like Hulda, or the man who runs the drunken huntsman. I'm sure the Jarl's assistant or his court wizard both would likely have some errands for you to run. Really just speak to anyone, as I said-"

"Plenty of people with more coins and fat on their hands than what they know to do with?" Quintessence said finishing for him.

"Exactly." The man said grinning a bit and returning his attention back towards his tankard.

"Sorry but I couldn't help but over hear you mention you were looking for work?" Hulga said coming up to the counter with a mug in hand she still appeared to be scrubbing.

Quintessence nodded wondering if the woman wanted to ask her on a personal job of some sort or would she simply point her in the right direction instead.

"Here take a look at this." She said sitting down the ale tankard and grabbing a piece of parchment she withdrew from underneath the counter. "Some of the Jarl's men came by and left this bounty letter."

Quintessence picked up the paper and saw a bounty had indeed been issued on the leader of a bandit camp in a place called Redoran's retreat. The bounty letter had a posted reward, a description of the target and a location.

Quintessence smiled and thanked the two before faking a yawn and standing informing them that she would set out on her Quest later after she'd gotten some rest.

Hulga nodded and wished her a pleasant rest and the Battle Born nodded towards her respectfully.

She made her way back to the room she shared with Morihatha and stepped inside closing the door behind her and sitting the bounty letter down on the table in front of the Imperial woman who looked at her curiously before picking it up and reading it for herself.

"So we're going to go claim this bounty?" The woman asked sounding somewhat excited.

"Yes, but we'll wait until later in the day." She answered stepping back into the hallway.

"I'm about to go take a wash, if you decide to go sit in the Inn's main room remember to sit away from the door, preferably in the shadows."

Morihatha nodded remembering what the woman had said about sunlight being very dangerous to her during her first few days as a vampire.

"As you wish my lady." Morihatha said smiling grateful to be no longer confined to one room and to have her freedom of movement once again.

Quintessence couldn't help returning the smile feeling as if the woman seemed to be much more grateful to her than she should be. She pulled out her coin purse and held it out to the woman, dropping it in her hand when Morihatha finally realized what she was doing.

"I wouldn't recommend eating anything solid during your first few days because you'll only throw it back up, with a fair amount of blood as well. Wine ale and med are perfectly good though, just be sure not to overdo it, okay Empress?"

Morihatha nodded as her smile widened into a grin and she walked past the woman nearly overjoyed at the prospect of once again tasting alcohol after nearly a week of thinking she'd forever be without any of life's simplest of pleasures.

Quintessence continued onwards to the washer finishing up around forty minutes later and going back inside the room to sleep until dusk as she could think of nothing else to do that'd pass the time.

 **Six hours later**

The women traveled together along the western road back to Whiterun while Quintessence gave Morihatha lessons on spotting Alchemy reagents in the area and the proper way of harvesting. They reached a certain point on the road where a number of luna moths were flitting around glowing dimly in the night, unaffected by the small winds passing across the plains.

Quintessence instructed her new hand madien as she liked to call her to catch as many as she could without damaging the wings and the woman did just so coming back to the woman with four luna moth wings.

Quintessence nodded to the woman placing the wings in her reagents pocket. The two continued on their way back towards Whiterun in a comfortable silence till Morihatha spoke up.

"So what exactly is a hand madien?" The woman asked causing Quintessence to shoot her a look of disbelief.

"Basically a female attendant to another female."

"So I'm basically your servant?" The captain asked sounding rather content with the idea.

"If that's the term you want to use sure. I'd prefer to call you a hand madien, your not so simple or unworthy of consideration to be named a slave or a servent. While it is true you live now only to serve me your existence is of greater value to me than that of a common servant."

"How so?" The woman asked unsure of why.

"Because you gave your life to me willingly. Instead of hating me and resisting to the last breath or breaking like many would have done in your position you owned up to your own involvement in the situation. If I wanted servents I could make them easily, you offered yourself to me so I will take you as a hand madien. As a companion and a possibly a friend in the future."

Morihatha smiled at the women's statement glad to hear she wasn't seen as something as worthless as a servant. She had given her life to the breton and received new life in turn. No matter what she was seen as she still intended to follow her.

The two reached Whiterun and continued further inside the city turning at the left and walking up a set of steps that lead them to the residential district. Quintessence felt her eyes widen slightly at the sight of a shrine of Talos sitting beside the steps that lead upwards towards the Jarl's palace.

Without sparing it any second thought she moved towards the statue and said a short prayer to the warrior God standing and noticing Morihatha doing the same and waiting till she finished.

Once done with her prayers Morihatha and Quintessence continued on their way towards the palace above the city.

"Are you sure someone in dragons reach will be awake at this time?"

"Dragons reach?" Quintessence inquired never hearing of that term before.

"It's the name of the castle." Morihatha stated looking as if she might laugh at Quintessence former puzzlement.

"Oh." Quintessence remarked looking up at the palace as they ascended the steps. "Well considering it's the Jarl palace I don't doubt someone will be up."

Morihatha nodded in agreement figuring maybe guards and staff would be up at this time, but they'd be lucky to catch the Jarl or one of his attendants at this hour. It looked like it might be within the second hour of the next day already, they'd left Whiterun at ten and been gone for nearly six hours.

"Halt." One of the guards ordered as they attempted to walk across the bridge leading to the doors of the keep. "What business have you with the Jarl?" The man asked, hand resting on the hilt of his weapon.

"I've come to speak with his attendant and claim the reward for a bounty he placed on this man's head." Quintessence said nodding to Morihatha.

The woman went inside the burlap sack she carried and pulled free a man's severed head.

The guard recoiled in surprise and Morihatha didn't know why but she found the man's fear to be somewhat intoxicating. She couldn't see it on his face past the usual helm of a guardsman but she could smell it, and it strongly compelled her to rip the man to shreds and bath herself in the throws of pleasure and ecstasy that'd accompany the act of draining the man like a tankard of ale.

Quintessence could smell the anxiousness rising in her companion and drew the man's attention away from the head hoping that he would calm his pansy ass down before he was ripped apart by the newborn beside her.

"We're also here with new from Helgen on the dragon attack."

The turned towards Quintessence and nodded turning away from them both and walking along the bridge towards the doors of the keep. Morihatha trembled slightly and shook her head getting herself together.

"It gets easier to control those urges after a while, except when we go hungry of course. At that point they get way worse." Quintessence said in a voice just above a whisper she knew the guard wouldn't here.

Morihatha nodded and began following behind Quintessence as she followed behind the guard, placing the severed head of the bandit chief back inside the bag and remembering what they'd done to accure it.

 **Flashback**

On the plans to the west of Whiterun Morihatha and Quintessence rain into a sabre cat that oddly enough might have been stalking two wolves as as soon as they engaged the sabre cat two wolves showed up and engaged them out of the blue.

Morihatha had been able to smell the sabre cat but the wolves had slipped past her sense's and she wondered if Quintessence had been able to smell them. The Breton hadn't seemed too surprised when they showed up so it she'd likely been aware of them ahead of time.

They'd death with the beast pretty quickly and around fifteen to thirty minutes skinning them properly before Quintessence showed her the proper way to extract the right eye if the sabre cat without damaging it's magical properties, along with the left elongated saber like tooth.

They continued on their way towards Redoran's Retreat stumbling across a gaint lumbering through the darkness on their way. Both women knew gaints hardly ever grew hostile without provacation but they still made sure to keep their distance unwilling to take unnecessary risk.

When they came to stand in front of the cavern Morihatha had to repress a shiver. The doors to the cavern looked just the same to the doors of the mine, the only difference being three old barrels and a wooden crate sitting out front and the lantern that hung over the entrance.

Quintessence noticed her apprehension and placed a hand on her shoulder shooting her a comforting smile and walking inside. Morihatha swallowed her nerves and did the same, feeling a bit better than she had thanks to the bretons gesture.

Once inside Quintessence silently instructed Moreah to help her pick the reagents that grew on the cave floor in the form of mushrooms. She could smell the woman's nervousness and an underlying hint of fear.

Quintessence knew exactly why her companion seemed to be so stressed out about their new surroundings. The last time she'd been in a cavern like this one she'd been completely immobile and in fear of her life-or worse, constantly.

When she'd woke her surroundings were completely dark and she was capable of movement once again. She proceeded to exit the mine and step into her new life with no restraints, walking a cavern that was practically identical to the mine must have seemed to her like walking back into her old life.

Quintessa's eyes narrowed as she felt a bit of regret for forcing this upon the woman. The breton mage usually wouldn't care about someone else's distress but she found she actually liked the woman who was now pledged to follow her. Something about her last few days in the mine had given her a fondness for the woman. Perhaps it was just because she'd been traveling by herself for a number of years before returning to Cyrodile and being instructed to head to Skyrim.

Maybe she'd just seen something in the woman she liked the moment she stood over her watching her own armor burn a hole in her chest in Helgen. She could've just brutally murdered the woman there inside the keep but something had caused her to spare her for whatever reason.

"If you want to wait outside I won't mind." Quintessence said willing to spare the woman from her own apprehension just this once.

Morihatha looked at her in Surprise for a moment before shaking her head no and continuing to pick more of the mushrooms on the ground. She struggled to understand the woman, she was just as much of an enigma to her now as she was the day they meant.

She seemed to be showing concern for her which Morihatha couldn't understand, she was just a servant after all. What good was a servant who was too frightened of a little cave to stay at her masters beck and call? For the whole of the time that she'd known her, which wasn't long, the woman was far kinder than she'd expected.

She took comfort in that knowledge. If Quintessence actually cared about her well being then she wouldn't just see her as an expendable pawn of some sort either, at least she hoped.

The two finished clearing the floor of mushrooms and continued further inside, Morihatha following a short distance behind Quintessence even though she'd insisted on taking point considering the breton was just a mage and she was a warrior.

The was a lengthy room in front of them were a dog walked back and forth on one end and a man on the far end away from them. Quintessence walked into the room and seemingly blended into one of the many shadows on the wall.

Morihatha did the same surprised at the silence with which she could move and the lightness of her feet. Quintessence smiled at the woman from her place in the shadows really fond of the way she caught on quickly.

"Eliminate the faster threat first and I'll take care of the annoying one."

Morihatha nodded and notched and arrow into the string of her bow, pulling it back and letting it flt towards the creature she assumed to be the faster threat.

The arrow pierced the dogs throat and the creature fell to the ground without so much as a cry as it's life faded almost instantly.

Quintessence moved from the shadows she sat in like some shadow blur quickly depositing herself in a set of shadows on the other end of the room. She launched a powerful beam of lightning which went clean through the bandits fur armor and tore through his chest.

Morihatha shuddered as she recalled the feeling of being hit with a similar spell. Thankfully though it hadn't been that one.

The two continued further in the room stepping out of the shadows as the current threats were neutralized. Morihatha's went to a self practically at the beginning of the room and smiled as she relieved the soon to be dead bandits of four of their bottles of ale and placing them in her new travelers satchel. Afterwards she quickly went to picking the mushroom reagents scattered around the floor of the room without being told to.

Quintessence grinned upon seeing what she was doing and moved towards a corner of the room in the middle of it and went to work on the lock on a small chest she had an easy time picking open. Inside the chest she found a set of elven armor still in pristine condition, a blacksmiths draught, and sixty two gold coins.

Inside a small sack sitting on one of the unopened crates next to the chest was three salt piles. She went into her satchels reagents pocket and pulled out a small bag of cloth and poored the salt inside the bag before tying it closed and putting it back inside her bag.

She turned around and Morihatha was behind her waiting having already harvested all the bleeding crown in the room. The two continued to the end of the room and Quintessence kicked the man's body rolling him over and taking the iron arrows out of his quiver and giving them to Morihatha.

They continued through the cave like passage way and Quintessence wondered what purpose the place originally served upon noticing a number of support beams.

At the end of the short passage they came across a small but spacious room with a number of barrels in it and a few bone chimes hanging around to alert it's occupants of intruders.

Quintessence walked silently towards the woman pacing back and forth at the front of the room and placed a hand over her mouth slitting her throat in the next motion before stepping back and letting her body fall to the floor. The bandit on the other room said a name Quintessence was sure belonged to the now dead Redguard woman on the floor.

Upon stepping past the wall of rock dividing the room and seeing Quintessence standing in the light over the bloody body of his comrade he unsheathed his steel blade a began to ruah forward till a leg stuck itself out if the shadows tripping and causing him to fall.

Morihatha's full form came into view not even a second later and the bandit chief was dead before he'd even had the opportunity to push himself to his feet.

Morihatha turned to Quintessence wondering if she'd have any other specific instructions for her now that their quest was complete. She jumped slightly when Quintessence placed a hand on her shoulder and her golden eyes began sparkling with delight.

"Good job, Empress." The woman said before gently pulling the blade from her hand and raising it high above the bandit chiefs head and bringing it down.

 **Present**

Morihatha couldn't help but feel proud of the fact that the woman beside her found her preformance inside the cavern pleasing.

She wondered where she'd be if she'd never ran into Quintessence at Helgen. She'd have likely either died in all the commotion or she'd be inside an Imperial fort somewhere asleep or drinking her melancholy away awaiting the next tedious round of task and assignments.

She'd never realized how truly miserable her life had been till the breton pointed out to her inside the mine that day and left her to reflect on it. The moment she'd waken up, before she'd even known she'd been turned, she'd felt like she had purpose. Maybe if she died her lady wouldn't care much, but she'd at least take notice. She'd felt like once she attained the rank of captain her life had suddenly held some meaning but she'd been wrong and the miserable nights she'd spent drinking herself to sleep had been all the proof she'd truly ever needed.

Now though she did have purpose, one that was rather simple but filled her with an actual sense of value none the less. Serve the woman who'd not only enlightened her to a number of truths that should've been painfully obvious, but who'd also given her new life. Honestly she could think of nothing that'd make her happier, especially considering the woman was kind to her at times. As far as she could see she carried herself with a certain kind of strength and confidence. Everything seemed to come easily to this woman, it was a wonder she'd even been captured attempting to illegally cross the border.

They stepped inside the castle and the first thing Quintessence noticed was it was warm, it smelled of burning wood and kindle, coal which was likely what they used to light the fires inside the small iron brazers lining the stairs and sitting along the wall. She could also smell good food and septums, or wealth for better choice of words. There was a thin layer of smoke in the air coming from the large fire pit blazing in the center of the room.

It smelled faintly of alchemy reagents and old magic, a court wizard close by Quintessence figured, wondering if Morihatha could smell all the things she could as well as discern certain scents from others.

Her eyes moved to the throne sitting beyond the fire pit and the dinning table and loe and behold, the Jarl was up and apparently holding court of some kind, or possibly just speaking with his advisors. It was very late in the night or very early into the next day, everything was silent but she could hear the urgent rush of voices in heated discussion drifting through the room.

The House Jarl has already noticed your presence, she will step forward to greet you." The guard said opening the door and returning back towards her post.

Quintessence nodded to the woman and began to walk further into the room when a red headed Dunmer woman approached her brandishing a steel sword threateningly in her hand with a look of contempt upon her face.

Morihatha let out a low growl that promised a threat to the Dunmer women if she should get any ideas with that sword. The woman looked towards the Imperial as if almost daring her to try it before turning again to lock eyes with the woman in the dark robes.

"What is the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors at the moment." She said seemingly dismissing them and asking a question in the same sentence.

 _"Since it's served me well before, might as well stick with the same line as usual."_ "I have news from Helgen about the dragon attack." Quintessence said looking at the woman seriously, managing to garner an air of importance the moment she uttered the words.

"Well, that explains why the guards let you in." The Dunmer remarked as if settling one issue. "Come, he will want to see you immediaty." The woman said seathing her sword and turning to walk towards the throne.

Quintessence walked behind her noticing she never dropped her shoulders as she walked. A sure sign that while she had seemingly dropped her guard upon sheathing her blade, she was still on alert and more than ready to react in the next instant should the need arise.

She came to stand in front of a regal looking man Quintessence assumed to be Jarl Balgruuf the greater. She gave a slight bow and Morihatha just stood at her side slightly behind her observing the Jarl and everyone else in the room warily with a hand near the hilt of her blade.

The housejarl frowned at what she took to be a show of disrespect from the Imperial woman.

"Have you no basic education? No honor for those who're above you, no respect for tradition?!" The Dunmer woman bit out in tone that held much more darkness than it had previously.

Morihatha simply spared the woman a glance before turning away eyes still scanning the room around her and everyone she deemed might present a possible threat to her lady.

"Did you not hear me wench!? You shall not stand in the presence of the Jarl without paying your proper respects!!! If it's something you've never been taught I assure you it's something you can be educated in!" The Dunmer woman snarled, drawing her sword yet again and shooting the Imperial a look so threatening it might have spooked a sabre cat.

Morihatha looking completely unfazed by the woman, gingerly placed a hand on the hilt of her blade and kept most of her focus on the dark elf, while still keeping an eye on the rest of the rooms occupants.

Quintessence noticed what she was doing but she still turned arching an eyebrow, wondering why the woman was keeping so silent and why she'd choosen not to kneel, or to at least bow as was customary when standing before a Jarl.

"Empress? Care to explain why you're choosing to disregarded the Nordic custom's I'm sure you're familiar with?" She questioned knowing the woman wasn't without a reason.

Morihatha turned to the woman still keeping half an eye on the housejarl. She nodded to Quintessence before turning towards the Balgruf.

"Apologies to you and your court my Jarl. While I do acknowledge your position of superiority, my lady doesn't expect me to bow before her. To bow before someone else would mean for me to show more reverence for the position you hold than I show my lady. I'm sorry if my disregard of your ancient customs and tradition has offended you in anyway, but none will come before the woman who saved me."

"I am but a humble servant, my ladies voice speaks for me in all things. If she extends to you her respect than you have mine as well." She finished still looking at Balgruuf but sparing Quintessence a sidelong glance wondering if she'd be pleased.

The Dunmer woman sneered but said nothing. She looked to Balgruuf who regarded the Imperial woman with a thoughtful frown as if unsure if he should be offended or not.

Quintessence was surprised at the woman's apparent devotion. She knew the Imperial was grateful to her but this was beyond what she'd ever expected. Apparently all Morihatha ever wanted was a place where she felt she belonged, a place where she'd have a purpose that didn't just revolve around her existing. Her purpose now was to serve Quintessence. She belonged with her, and she lived exclusively for her sake. She knew that and seemed very happy with her new existence.

Quintessence had only really done it off of a whim and a budding fondness she'd begun to feel for the woman in the short time they'd known each other. Now though it was clear to her that the moment she claimed the woman's life she'd given her real purpose, she'd given her a place where she belonged. That explained why she never once questioned her new existence, and also why she likened herself to nothing more than a servant.

She was perfectly content to do so as long as Quintessence allowed it. It likely gave her a sense of satisfaction she'd never before experienced.

Quintessence spared the woman one of her best smiles upon realizing she extended her her loyalty not because she had to, but because she wanted to. Morihatha's guarded facial expression unknowingly took the shape of a delighted smile.

Balgruuf watched the two closely and decided he would accept her excuse, only because of the admiration he saw in the Imperial woman's eyes. She seemed to feel indebted to the breton woman to the point of reverence, while the breton seemed fond of the Imperial, smiling at her almost like a proud parent would a child.

"If that's the case I'd think it best you stood a respectful difference away when your lady is approaching a Jarl. I may be choosing to forgive you but not all of the other Jarls will be so forgiving." Balgruuf said, three Jarl's that would have had the woman executed or jailed for such disrespect coming to mind.

Morihatha nodded respectfully in an understanding manner and backed away somewhat while ensuring she was still close enough to Quintessence to jump to her defense should the need arise.

Balgruuf turned back to Quintessence sparing her dark robes of destruction a look of curiousity before looking back up to catch her eyes. Quintessence could see the Jarl had not been getting much sleep lately, a casualty of the war perhaps?

While their was an air of exhaustion around him his eyes still burned with energy, and inside them she could see a wisdom and a strength she knew she might come to respect in time.

"So-" He commented after sizing her up for a short moment. "-You come to me bearing news of a dragon attack?"

"I do, I actually got to witness the destruction first hand."

"So you were at helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?" The man asked, a hopefully glint in his eyes and voice.

"Unfortunately I was and unfortunately I did. The dragon destroyed Helgan, and last I saw it was heading this way." Quintessence said repressing a shiver at the thought of the creature and it's burning ember iris's.

"By Ysmir Irileth was right!" Balgruuf nearly gasped before turning towards the man Quintessence assumed to be his steward.

"What do you say now Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls, against a dragon?"

"My lord, we should send a detatchment to Riverwood at once." The Dunmer housejarl interrupted.

"It's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is lurking in the moutai-"

"You can't be serious about suggesting such a thing? The Jarl of Falkreath would only view that as a provacation. He'd assume we were preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him." The steward said looking at Irileth as if her suggestion was a foolish one.

The two began to argue with one another and Quintessence noticed Bulgruuf's face begin morphing into a frown as some of his fatigue quickly disappered.

"Enough! He shouted slamming his hand on the arm of his throne.

"I will not stand idly by while a dragon slaughters my hold and burns my people!" He said looking to Proventus who looked thoroughly reprimanded.

He turned back towards his housejarl as his face returned to what Quintessence thought to be his usual calm. "Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once."

"Yes my Jarl." The woman said giving a salute and turning to leave shooting the steward a smug grin she did well to keep her lord from seeing.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my duties." Proventus remarked humbly before the Jarl as if making a request.

"That would be best." Balgruuf said with a node before turning back to Quintessence.

"Well done, you sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it." Balgruuf said sounding truly grateful.

"Here, take this as a small token of my esteem." He said giving the woman an ameyehst and a garnet she figured would serve nicely as a payment which she wasn't expecting.

"There is something else you can help me with. Suitable for someone of your paticular talents perhaps. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into these dragons and rumors of dragons."

She nodded and followed the man realizing he and his advisors had been up so late because they'd been having a discussion about how to react to the supposed sightings and rumors of dragons. Having no one that could truly tell him what'd happened they didn't know how to react, or rather they didn't know if they should.

A man in a set of horned scale armor intercepted them halfway across the room and began speaking with Balgruuf in an anxious tone about something pertaining to the western tower.

Quintessence figured she might as well ask the wizard what was needed considering Balgruuf might be a while.

She followed her nose and she and Morihatha came to stand beside the Jarl in a room on the right side of the great hall where there stood a Nordic man Quintessence thought smelled quite nice compared to most men.

It was likely a combination of the pampered lifestyle of a court wizard mixed with the smells of alchemy reagents and the old magic of the enchanting table. The smell of all magic save necromancy always appealed to her for some reason.

The man looked up curiously from a set of papers he had sitting on his desk, a look of unrest in his eyes coupled with a look of irritation Quintessence knew came from her interruption of whatever it was he was looking over.

"The Jarl said you had a project you needed help with?" Quintessence said watching as the irritation in his eyes quickly swelled into a look of anger.

"Hm, what, project!? You think you could help me!? I really don't think so." He said practically dismissing her presence just as much as he did her question.

It was pretty obvious to Quintessence he hardly looked upon her as someone who might be competent. He seemed insulted by the fact she'd even attempted to offer assistance in the first place.

"Careful not to get your loin cloth caught in a binding, you might just wind up stepping in your own shock rune." She remarking willing to verbally spare with the man to correct him if he really thought her so below himself.

"What, I never even cast a...ahhh. I see you have some knowledge of the higher arts. Forgive my earlier rudeness. I'm so often interrupted by visitors just wandering in I can get quite savage. Now, what is it you said you wanted?"

"The Jarl said you had a project you needed help with." Quintessence supplied wondering if all Skyrims court mages happened to be so temperamental.

"Ah, indeed? The Jarl?" He said looking as if he didn't quite know what she was speaking of.

"Oh yes, he must be reffering of my research into the dragons. Yes I could use someone to fetch something for me." He said hesitating slightly at the end of his sentence.

"Well when I say fetch, I really mean I need someone to dwelve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient tablet that may or may not be there."

Quintessence raised an eyebrow wondering of Balgruuf had known of the danger related to this task before requesting that she undertake it.

 _"Sounds fun and perhaps profitable at the least if this ruin turns out to be anything like Bleak falls barrow."_

"Alright where am I going and what am I fetching?" She asked getting straight to the point.

"Straight to the point eh? No need for tedious hows and why's, I like that. Leave those details to your betters am I right?" He paused for a moment wondering how best to continue.

"I ahhh, learned of a certain tablet said to be housed within Bleak falls barrow. A dragon stone, said to contain a map of dragon burriel sights. Go to Bleak falls barrow and retrieve this stone, no doubt to be intered within the main chamber, and bring ut to me, simplicity itself."

"Oh, do you mean this old stone?" Quintessence said pulling the stone tablet she'd taken from the ruin out of her bag.

"Ahhh, the dragon stone of Bleak falls barrow! You already found it...you are cut from a different cloth than the usual brutes the Jarl hoist upon me."

Quintessence shrugged not taking a statement comparing her to sell swords to be a compliment.

"Now that you have the dragonstone what's next?" She inquired wondering if she could help him with something else or possibly even his research.

It'd do her well to begin creating a name for herself and possibly getting on the Jarl's good side.

"That is where your work ends and mine begins, the work of the mind. Sadly under valued in Skyrim."

Quintessence nodded thinking back to Aella the huntress and her distaste and lack of understanding when it came to magic. She opened hher to reply to the mages statement knowing she was more than knowledgeable to help him with any kind of work he undertook when a shrill voice cut her words short before they ever escaped her lips.

"Farengar!!!" Irileth called rushing into the room with a maliuble sense of urgency.

"Farengar you need to come at once! A dragon's been sighted near by-" The bosmer said before turning to face Quintessence. "-you should come too."

 **Divines, writing this chapter was pretty boring, but it's still pretty early in the story soo...** **I would've uploaded this chapter sooner but my original draft for it was so dull I scraped the whole thing and decided to start from scratch. Plus I've gotta upload a chapter for my Naruto fic between chapters for this one, can't play favorites.** I **alter the dialogue of certain characters slightly to better suit the atmosphere but for the most part everything's still exactly the same as in game. I hope you guys will continue to enjoy the story. I promise it will only get better as it moves along.**


	7. Dragon Rising

**Got a little creative with the dragon fight, I'll probably get better with writing them as the story goes** **. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm giving vampirism too much attention. I just giving vampirism a classic vampire appeal, I'll be doing the same for lycabthrope. It's not that I wanna make it OP, in my opinion it just has to actually be worth it to take a chance on becoming one of Molag Bahl's toys for all of eternity right** , **and I figure I can use it to add to the story.** **Hope you guys enjoy the chapter,** **sorry if it was kinda boring, still early in the story.**

 _Dragon Rising_

Quintessence felt her heart jump in her chest at the women's words and suggestion that she accompany her and Farngar to see the Jarl. She would really rather not, but she couldn't help it as her feet carried her after the house Jarl and the court wizard.

If it was the same dragon as before she would rather not even be in Whiterun at the moment. However if it was another dragon she didn't really know how she'd feel...interested perhaps?"

"A dragon!?!? How exciting! Where was it spotted, what did it look like?" The Nordic wizard asked with what Quintessence deemed to be an unusual amount of enthusiasm about something so dangerous.

"I'd take this more seriously if I were you." Irileth said with a pointed frown. "Should a dragon decide to attack Whiterun I doubt we'd be able to stop it."

"Of course." Farngar replied sounding more serious but Quintessence could still clearly hear the excitement in his voice.

They made their way up a set of stairs near the end of the room to the right of where the Jarl's throne sat.

As a mage and a seeker of knowledge Quintessence could understand the wizards excitement to dwelve into something completely new and unknown. She couldn't bring rise to the interest or curiousity she would usually feel for such a thing though.

At the mention of a dragon nearby all she could think of was the creature that stared her down with such loathing and animosity. His red eyes seemingly boring into her soul making her extremely aware of just how much it sought her demise, just how much it despised her and her kind.

They reached the top of the stairs that lead to what Quintessence figured to be a war room. There was a map of Skyrim on the table with red and blue markers placed in specific locations she was sure marked both Imperial and Stormcloak military post known to the Jarl of Whiterun.

A number of weapons hung on the walls and on weapon racks around the room, and there was a chest underneath the table where the map was placed. Other than that and the two large doors on the north and west walls there was really nothing remarkable or note worthy about the room, save what looked to be a make shift balcony that over looked the Jarl's feast hall.

The room itself was large, plan, and housed a map, a book shelf with scrolls she assumed to be more maps, and a number of weapons. Your basic war room of course, built to be practical with no care for aesthetically pleasing decor.

Balgruf stood in front of the table with a look of concern but an air of determination. Quintessence couldn't help but respect the man for his strength. No doubt he had fought many hard battles in his life that'd tempered his discipline and resolve. He had the inner strength and the bearing of a veteran coupled with the resolve of a warrior.

Next to him was his brother who was actively attempting to cover up his obvious look of fear, unaware that his body was giving off a scent of dread the breton was almost sure would entice her companion.

While the man ressembled his brother in physical appearance Quintessence thought that was where the similarities ended. She didn't know the man and she hadn't even been in his company for more than five minutes yet, but she was a pretty good judge of character.

Where as Balgruf was a seasoned veteran of battle and perhaps even war his brother was nothing of the sort. He carried a big sword but she doubted he'd ever used it outside of a spare here and there. He was the equivalent of the pampered nobles child who'd been raised for the specific purpose of serving as a sort of right hand to the head of the household.

Next to him was Proventus who's fear had seemingly frozen him in place. The man's Imperial skin had went so pale he could almost pass for a Nord at the moment. Quintessence couldn't help but sneer in disdain. She thought Skyrim to be home to men of courage and bravery comparable to that of the old hero's of legend and renown. Aella the huntress was in possession of more backbone than these men in Balgruufs company.

Upon noticing their arrival Balgruuf turned towards the only guard in the room. A man who smelled of sweat and fear so deep Quintessence signaled for Morihatha to wait in the throne room least she lose control of herself, already the Imperials usually dark brown eyes were starting to flood with red at the corners.

Morihatha nodded a bit reluctantly and proceeded back down the stairs which no one seemed to take notice of.

"So, Irileth tells me you come from the western watchtower?" Balgruuf probed wasting no time.

"Yes my lord." The man answered in a steady voice that did not betray his fear.

"Tell him what you told me, about the dragon." Irileth commanded.

"I saw it coming from the south, it was fast. Faster than anything I've ever seen." The soldier said shivering slightly at the memory.

"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?"

"No my lord..it was just circling over head when I left. I never ran so fast in my life, I thought it would come after me for sure."

"Good work son, we'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it."

The man nodded and bowed his head in gratitude before walking off. Balgruuf looked unsure for a short moment before turning back to his house Jarl.

"Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."

"I've already ordered my men to muster at the man gate." She answered proudly as if she'd already expected such a command and reacted accordingly.

"Good...don't fail me." Balgruuf remarked in a voice that held a bit more emotion than a normal command would usually.

Irileth paused for a moment and the two held eye contact just long enough for Quintessence to see something pass between them. She began to wonder if Balgruuf and his house Jarl might be a bit closer than most would deem appropriate.

The dunmer woman nodded and quickly took her leave. Balgruuf turned towards Quintessence not a second later and she could plainly see a sense of urgency in his eyes.

"There's no time to stand on ceremony my friend, I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You survived Helgen so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here, and I haven't forgotten the service you did for me in retrieving the dragonstone for Farngar."

"As a token of my esteem I'll be instructing Abvenichi that you are now permitted to purchase property within the city. Please... accept this gift from my personal amory." Balgruuf said as a servent stepped forward and gingerly presented her with a staff of ice spikes.

Quintessence grinned upon accepting it, thinking that the staff might just prove itself useful to her before nodding her head in gratitude and making her way down the stairs toward the throne room. Morihatha looked a bit anxious but she visibly calmed a bit upon seeing her lady approaching.

Quintessence beckoned she follow and the two began to take their leave of the keep.

She didn't know why the thought of the large black dragon scared her so much but witnessing the fear of the men in the war room reminded her that fear was a feeling that was beneath her. She would not be intimidated by anyone or anything, that simply wasn't in her nature.

As she caught sight of Irileth and the small group of soldiers at the front gate she didn't even bother waiting for the dark elf to finish her speech. She rushed past them and through the gate, ignoring the path that'd lead her towards the western tower. She took to the plains just outside the city deciding that'd be a quicker route.

She swore to herself that if the dragon at the western watchtower was the very same as the one at Helgen, she would ruthlessly destroy the creature and finally be done with the alien feelings it was inspiring that vexed her so.

Less than five minutes later her and Morihatha stood just outside the western watchtower surverying the land around the immediate area. There was no doubt that a dragon had been here. The tower was in ruins, a large part of the ground was scorched and some of it even still burning.

The smell of fear hung heavy over the area and Quintessence could feel Morihatha getting antsy again causing her develop a small smirk as she surveryed the area. From the level of destruction around the area it was immediately obvious to the breton that the dragon that destroyed Helgen had nothing to do with what'd taken place here.

Compared to the destruction the dragon wrought within the first minute of it's appearance at Helgen this was somewhat pathetic. Like a strong wind trying to compare itself to a level five hurricane. The realization that another dragon was responsible had lifted Quintessa's spirits considerably.

She really had no desire to face the dragon from Helgen. Really she hoped to never see or hear of it again but deep down she knew fate would not be so kind as to grant her that wish.

"Why does fear excite me so much?" Morihatha growled barely managing to keep herself in check.

At the moment her every instinct was screaming at her to search the area for any terrified survivors...and rip them to shreads slowly, so that she could bask in the carnage and feeling of terror she'd leave in her wake.

"Because Molag Bahl is the prince of domination and as vampires we reflect him in a way. Our every instinct as a vampire screams at us to dominate, and fear is an affliction the weak impose on themselves to prolong their lives."

"Naturally the weak are to be dominated by the strong so when we come across fearful individuals that instinct becomes more than twice as strong as usual. Our response to any kind of weakness, but specifically fear is to dominate it. As a new born your instincts are still at their most primial, you haven't learned to live with them yet."

Morihatha shook her head as if she found such a thing unacceptable.

"So how long will it take me to get used to them? I don't think I'll be able to resist much longer." She said with red rimed eyes and elongated fangs.

"You'll never get used to them, they just become easier to control after a while. Everytime I'm around someone who smells of fear my first instinct is the same as yours. To display my true nature and take my time squeezing every bit of blood and fear out of them in the cruelist of ways."

"If you go too long without indulging in it it'll basically be the same as if you go too long without blood. You'll eventually just attack the closet person you can get your hands on and you'll enact cruelties upon them the likes of which you could never imagine. Don't worry though, we'll indulge in your bloodlust soon, but for right now I need you to control yourself..okay Empress?"

Morihatha nodded and closed her eyes taking a deep breath and opening them after a few moments. The red that'd been pooling in was now gone replaced with her usual almond colored brown, and her fangs receded back to their normal size which was barely noticeable unless one looked for them.

Quintessence smiled at her proudly and turned her head towards the sound of armor and footsteps approaching from the East. A few moments later Irileth came running down the path with five guardsmen behind her.

"So nice of you to wait for the rest of us." The woman bit out sarcastically causing Quintessence to happily role her eyes.

"Well we did wait for you two to get here to search the tower so that counts for something right?"

Irileth scoffed and choose not to reply turning to her men instead and giving an order to fan out and search the area for survivors. Quintessence could tell already there were at least two survivors in the area, she could smell them, one inside the tower and one behind it who was likely injured.

She instructed Morihatha to stay where she was an support the soldiers if need be but it was best if she didn't approach the tower due to overwhelming aroma of fear surroundings the area, and the soldier in the back who smelled heavily of blood.

Quintessence ran pass the towers and the guardsmen to the man she smelled and found a soldier that was still alive, although just barely, laying on the ground with his hand pressed down on a large gash wound over his stomach.

She pulled the soldiers hand out of the way easily as he was barely concious and hardly capable of putting up any kind of fight. The soldier breathed a low sigh of relief as healing magic numbed the pain he felt and began stitching the wound shut slowly but surely.

Quintessence wasn't any kind of doctor but she could tell from the large amount of blood on the ground that the man wouldn't be standing up on his own any time soon. She heard one of the guards cursing and shouting out that the dragon was making another pass and she cursed thanking Stendar and Mara that she'd been able to heal the man's wound fully before she lifted him up and slung him easily over her shoulder thanking Molag Bahl for her enhanced strength.

Thanking the lord of domination and rape put a bad taste in her mouth but she ignored it and quickly moved away from the tower as she heard the sound of a dragon in flight. The familiar whoosh of air as the beast glided effortlessly on the wind was all she needed to know, the creature was right upon them.

"Here he comes! Find cover and make every arrow count!" Irileth called and Quintessence smelled fear bubbling up from the men surrounding the tower.

She quickly rushed towards the other side of the road adjacent from the tower and gingerly deposited the wounded guard in some bushes hoping nothing might happen to him during the battle that was to come.

She made her way back towards the other side of the road just as the dragon swooped in above the tower and let out a roar. A roar Quintessence felt to be something of a challenge.

Morihatha growled in response from beside her and Quintessence developed a wicked smile as adrenaline the likes of which she'd never felt before began to surge within her viens. This dragon was a pale blue, it was much smaller, less intimidating than the large black dragon she'd faced at Helgen and Quintessence let out a howl of acceptance to the dragons challenging roar before she'd even known what she was doing.

The dragons ice blue eyes zero'd in on her golden yellow and without a single word passing between the two Quintessence had the distinct feeling that the duel had began.

The dragon swooped in closer to the ground and flew directly over her and the others and Quintessence summonded two storm atronachs and conjured a bound bow she quickly strung with an etheral arrow.

The dragon came back around low towards the ground and Quintessence could swear she heard the creature speak as the black dragon at Helgen had done.

The moment it spoke the first word she was already moving knowing what to expect and unwilling to take any chances. The next to words came just as quickly as the first and with them the dragon unleashed a torrent of flame in her direction, but thankfully she'd already seen fit to protect herself under the cover of one of the tower walls.

The dragon flew back around making another pass and Quintessence let the arrow she still had strung fly towards the creature as it rounded towards her and it slammed into it's scales causing the creature to let out a howl of outrage.

 **"Yul Tor Sul!"**

Quintessence raised a steadfast ward shielding herself from the creatures blast as it passed over her head.

She notched another arrow into her bow as her atronachs launched bolt after lightning bolt towards the creature along with Irileth. The guards were launching a flurry of arrows at the dragon and not only did it seemed annoyed at their attacks, it seemed fustrated and even looked like it was taking damage.

The creature flew towards their group again and hovered just above them turning it's attention towards her atronachs who were apparently doing it the most damage seeing as they'd garnered 'his' attention. Quintessence realized she was somehow aware of it's gender as she'd been with the other dragon.

It let out another torrent of flame, this one more powerful and concentrated now that it wasn't on the move anymore.

Quintessence channel shock into the arrow I her bow and let it fly causing the creature to wince and let out an enraged roar before turning it's attention towards her and racing towards the skys again.

Her atronachs had barely survived that blast of flame. The bonds holding them here were weak now, one more attack like that and they would be done for. The dragon turned and began heading in her direction once again and she prepared to raise a steadfast ward to block it's flame shout but much to her surprise it went lower towards the ground and opened it's talons as it neared her.

She felt something push her to the ground causing the dragon to just miss her and she quickly stood looking up with a feeling that was close to panic as she saw Morihatha wedged between the creatures claws as it took to the skies once more.

It let go of the woman when it was high in the air and Quintessa's eyes widened as the Imperial began plummeting towards the ground from a height that would easily ensure instantaneous death upon impact.

The dragon spun around and rounded on Quintessence again and her face twisted into a mask of furry and she dispelled her bow before unleashing two quickly cast thunder bolts which slammed into the dragon causing it to roar in pain and turn away from it's source unwilling to take another attack as powerful as that head on.

The breton called on all the speed vampirsm could provide her and blurred across the grassy plan towards the falling Imperial uncaring of the guards seeing her and discovering she wasn't exactly human anymore.

She held her hands out in front of her when she got underneath the Imperial and strained herself hard never having to caste telekenesis from this range on an object so heavy that was falling with such speed.

She was grateful that the dragon had saw fit to drop the woman from so high up, or it was likely she would have already hit the ground. She was thankful for her ability to see perfectly in the dark and for the second time that day she extended her thanks towards the lord of domination.

Her spell grabbed a hold of Morihatha but there was only so little telekinesis could do. She pushed against the woman with all her might but she was barely able to slow her, Morihatha was still falling at a speed that would surely kill her and Quintessence too if she didn't move.

She heard the wind underneath the dragons wings and knew it was turning to make another pass at her and her mind began running through what little options she had available in the short amount of time she had.

Quintessence did something older vampires hardly did. For the first time in years she growled in anger and fustration. She turned to face the dragon and waved both her hands in a vertical arch, sending two crescent shaped waves of storm crashing into either side of the creatures wings.

The dragon let out a deafening roar of pain as it crashed into the ground sliding through the dirt directly towards Quintessence.

She jumped onto the dragons head and pushed off with her legs, putting as much magicka into her levitaion ability as she could, propelling herself into the air. She locked eyes with the still falling Imperial woman who was nearly to the ground at this point.

If the two crashed into each other while Morihatha was falling at such speed they would both likely break a couple of bones and die when they hit the ground.

Quintessence pushed a decent amount of magicka to her eyes using the command obedience charm in a way that turned it into a bend will charm instead. Levitation was an ability only older vampires could use but gliding was something all of them, even the younglings had access to. If Morihatha had known that ahead of time they could have slowed her descent enough for her to survive but unfortunately she knew nothing of her abilities.

Quintessence mentally commanded Morihatha to slow herself by gliding and the Imperial woman who's will currently wasn't her own moved magicka to all of her limbs, slowing her descent into a steady glide.

Quintessence slammed into her and did the same and the two began to glide towards the ground which was at least ten meters below them.

They crashed into the earth hard a small distance away from the tower and Quintessence felt like the fall might have broken her leg and possibly even her left arm.

Irileth and the others were doing battle with the now downed dragon which had already dispatched two of the guardsmen along with both Quintessa's atronachs.

It was barely being pushed back by the bosmers lightning bolts but it was obvious to see the creature was greviously injured and was now fighting recklessly, but it still had the upper hand over the guards and the house Jarl who had no way to defend against it's flames.

Morihatha sat up and looked at Quintessence apologetically but Quintessence disregarded the woman and conjured a bound bow she held in her right hand before looking to her hand madien.

"Draw an arrow from the quiver, place it in the bow and draw it for me."

Morihatha looked at her questionly for a second before moving to do just as she instructed. Quintessence held the bow steadily in her right hand as Morihatha placed one hand over hers and drew the string back with the other, holding an arrow in place.

The breton didn't know exactly where her next idea had come from but she felt it'd serve her purpose well enough, and she could think of no other way to gain the dragons attention.

She opened her mouth and let loose a make shift roar of challenge that drew everyone's attention, but specifically the dragons who's eyes widened as it turned away from the group and let loose a roar of it's own in response to hers.

She began channeling shock to the arrow Morihatha was holding and the Imperial woman winced at the pain she felt as the surplus energies began coursing through her instead of just dispersing like they would usually.

Quintessence winced slightly at the woman's pain but continued channeling lightning knowing she'd be able to handle it, just waiting for the moment that was needed.

The dragon opened it's mouth preparing to launch a shout and Quintessence shouted now giving Morihatha leave to let go of the arrow which she did sending it flying towards the creature and embedding itself directly into the roof of it's mouth.

The dragon howled in pain and began shaking it's head from side to side as the lightning electrocuted it's mouth and it's head disorienting and causing it great pain. Quintessence let the bow fade and channeled the last of her magicka into a master level spell of her own creation, one that could be charged with an endless amount of magicka that'd only add to it's destructive power, lightning beam.

She let the spell fly towards the raging dragon and it tore directly through it's chest causing the creatures howls to subside as it went still for a moment before looking down at the hole in it's chest and then towards the breton woman in disbelief. It collapsed a moment afterwards and aside from the burning if the grass around the tower and the heavy breathing and sound of racing hearts all was silent.

Quintessence let loose a sigh, thankful that the fight was over and Morihatha hadn't went and died on her only a day after becoming her new hand madien and companion. The remaining guards all begun to cheer and congratulate each other with tear filled hugs of appreciation that'd make you think the group would all consider themselves brothers for life after tonight.

"Hey." She said looking to Morihatha who turned to look at her curiously. "Don't ever do that again." She commanded seriously causing the woman to look at her in surprise.

"I was just attempting to save you mila-"

"Yes, and in doing so you almost got yourself killed and I almost died trying to save you. Both your legs are broken and I've broken an arm and a leg. Next time just let the dragon grab me and I'll be able to glide to safety." Quintessence said lying with a straight face.

Glide was only made for traveling short distances not great descents out of the sky. Just like levitate was only meant for leaping over short distances not flying or hovering indefinitely above the ground.

Morihatha looked at her questionly for a moment before nodding her head although she knew if it came down to it she'd still likely disobey that order.

She looked down at her legs and winced feeling a slight burst of panic at the sight. Her lower limbs were completely mangled, her right leg was hardly even still attached at the thigh and her left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. She couldn't even feel either of the limbs and she began to wonder if her spin was broken again only this time in a lesser state.

Quintessence felt her fear and reassured her that she would be okay. If she forced her magicka into the limbs they would heal themselves without the need of a healer or any potions.

Morihatha followed the woman's instruction and much to her surprise the leg began to reattach itself and seemingly stich itself back together while the other began bending and twisted at a more unnatural angle than it'd been in previously till it once again ressembled a limb rather than a twisted tree branch.

Her left leg was still broken and she was out of magicka but she could feel the limbs again so she sighed in relief before looking at Quintessence with a look of disbelief.

"You should know that it's impossible for us to heal at all in the sunlight, even with the help of healing spells and magicka potions. We don't regain stamina or magicka in the sun and aside from that it makes us physically weaker."

Morihatha nodded and attempted to stand only to wince and give up, her left leg was still definitely broke. She looked up as Irileth came to stand in front of them both with a look of suspicion pasted on her sharp elven features.

"Everyone else may have been too busy fighting the dragon to have noticed but I saw you rush to save the life of your companion. The speed both of you used was inhuman, and then there's the matter of how far you jumped into the air, and how you both still managed to survive." She said glaring at the two unsure if they were a threat.

"What are you?" She demanded coldly her blade still in her hand, her feet still squared and ready.

"We're vampires." Quintessence remarked causing Morihatha to look at her in shock.

Irileth's eyes widened and her mouth came open in shock as if she was just seeing them both for the first time.

For a moment she just looked back and forth between the two until she flinched ready to attack when Quintessence pulled out a magicka potion and drowned the contents of the bottle. She began healing Morihatha's leg as if Irileth wasn't even present, she didn't appear to be worried in the least bit about how the dunmer woman would react to her statement.

Morihatha on the other hand was looking at Irileth questionly with her shoulders tensed as if prepared for anything.

Irileth looked at them for a moment longer and seathed her blade figuring the women didn't seem to be a threat to Whiterun and the breton could have easily lied and attempted to pass it off as some spell if she wanted to. If it wasn't for them they likely wouldn't have been able to have beaten that dragon and she at least owed them a debt for that.

She resolved to talk with them later after they had this mess at the tower fully sorted out. She moved back towards the men who were all gathered around the dragon observing it warily.

Morihatha nodded in gratitude towards Quintessence for healing her leg so that she could walk and stood testing her limbs as Quintessence went to healing her own leg but leaving her left arm as it was.

Sending magicka to the limbs only accelerated the advanced healing vampires already possessed. The arm would be healed by tomorrow without her interface. She only needed her leg to walk so she decided she might as well not waste her magicka on the limb, even if it did hurt like hell.

She walked past the guardsmen and the dead dragon towards the guardsmen she healed earlier and laid on the side of the road. The man's skin was deathly pale but unlike four other guardsmen who'd had the misfortune of meeting the dragon in battle, he was still alive.

Quintessence removed a minor healing potion from her satchel and motioned for Morihatha to help her since she could only use one of her arms at the moment. The Imperial sat the man up and parted his lips slightly. Quintessence used her teeth to uncork the bottle and pour the glowing red liquid down the man's throat knowing he'd likely die soon if his blood didn't soon replenish itself.

She placed the empty vail back in her satchel and looked to Morihatha expectantly. The woman nodded and lifted the man over her shoulder and they made their way back towards the others.

Quintessence was about to tell Irileth she and Morihatha would ensure he made it back to the city unharmed while they took care of things at the watch tower but as they approached all eyes went wide as the dragons carcass seemingly began to catch fire.

One of the guards let out a shrill cry of alarm and Irileth quickly commanded everyone to get back and as they hurried to do so, however Quintessence walked forward feeling drawn to the remains for some reason, the fire warmed her insides.

Pretty soon the entire carcass was up in flames and a large wind picked up pushing the flames towards Quintessence who stood where she was unafraid. Morihatha prepared to quickly move and shield the woman but she realized they weren't burning her, they were seemingly being absorbed.

The flames flew into Quintessence giving her a euphoric sensation the likes of which she had never before experienced. It was something like what all vampires felt upon drinking some particularly delectable blood, but really it was just so much more.

The flames traveled deep within her soul seemingly mixing with who she was and awakening something she'd always felt but could never before reach or identify. Suddenly the word on the wall back in Bleak falls barrow came rushing back towards the fore front of her mind although it'd never really left.

She now recognized it for what it was, she could truly feel it within herself. The word had a power of it's own. The word was power, she understood it now. FUS or FORCE, it represented strength, energy, vigor, and power. Power or strength extered against a person or thing. She felt she could use it now, the word practically begged to be used.

She opened her mouth and it came to her as naturally as breathing.

 **"Fus!"**

An invisible wave of force came with her shout, kicking up dust and pushing back the dragons bones slightly.

She felt slightly dizzy as if she'd literally thrown a part of herself into the word, but at the same time she could hardly remember anything ever feeling so right in her life. She'd just shouted at the air and her voice projected a force that overcame it.

She'd heard about the ancient Nordic warriors who fought with the voice but she'd never expected to be able to use such magic. It was amazing, it was invigorating, it was right. Oddly enough it gave her the urge to kill more dragons. She now knew she wasn't imagining it. When the dragons breathed fire they didn't literally breath the flames, they shouted them into existence.

Her entire body started tingling with the knowledge that she was now able to do something similar. She wanted to do it again but she still felt a little dizzy and she knew if she attempted again so soon she might just feint.

Something clicked within her and for the first time in her life she felt like she was nearly whole. She hadn't even realized how much she'd been missing out on, how important to her this was until this very moment.

"I don't believe it...you're...dragonborn."

Quintessence was hardly aware of the guard as he spoke but she became aware of his presence a moment later and turned to acknowledge that he'd just spoke.

"What?" She questioned knowing he'd just said something but not knowing what he said.

"In the very oldest tales back from the when there were dragons still on Skyrim, the dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you just did isn't it?"

Quintessa's brow furrowed slightly at his words as she searched herself for the answer.

"I think you may be right." She said after a moment.

"Yes, I think I am. You can shout now, you must be dragon born."

"Dragonborn, what are you talking about?" Another guard interjected sounding skeptical.

"That's right, my grandfather used to tell stories about the dragonborn!" Another guard said looking at Quintessence in wonder. "Those born with dragon blood in them like good ole Tiber Septum himself."

"I've never heard of Tiber Septum killing any dragons." The skeptical guard commented.

"That's because there weren't any dragons then idiot. They're just coming back now for the first time in...forever, but the old tales tell of the dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their power. She must be one."

"What do you say Irileth? You've been awefully quiet."

"Come on Irileth, tell us. Do you believe in this dragonborn business?"

Irileth humped before looking at the guards and the dead dragon a moment before replying.

"I believe some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on matters you know nothing about. Here's a dead dragon, and that's one thing I definitely understand. Now we know we can kill them, but I don't need some mythical dragonborn. Someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough for me."

Quintessence figured the woman did have a point there. Regardless of what she was, the dragon was now dead. That meant they could be killed. The black dragon that inspired fear within her wasn't something she should be afraid of if it could die same as she could.

"You wouldn't understand housecarl. You ain't a Nord." The first guard spoke up causing Irileth to frown indignantly.

"I've been all across Tameriel! I've seen plenty of things just as outlandish as this. I'd advise you all to trust in the strength of your sword arm, rather than strength and legends."

 _"Solid advice."_ Quintessence remarked to herself.

"That was the hairiest fight I've ever been in and I can assure you I've been in more than a few." Irileth said coming to stand in front of Quintessence.

"I don't know about any ofthis dragonborn nonesense but either way I know I'm glad you're with us. You should return to Whiterun, Jarl Balgruuf will want to know what happened here."

Quintessence nodded and remarked that her and Morihatha would be taking the injured soldier she carried with them and dropping him off at the temple of Kynereath. Irileth nodded her head trusting them to get him there safely and Quintessence turned away from the woman pleased and began making her way back towards the city with Morihatha behind her.

As the two finally reached the outside of the city a shout rang out shaking the very heavens and the earth causing the stable master to stumble and fall while his horse's went into a frenzy.

Quintessence recognized the words as the same words the dragon at Helgen had addressed her with, Dovakhin. She looked up towards the towering peek to the left of Whiterun and her mind went a little hazy at the implications of what just occurred.

She got the feeling that the Nordic masters of the voice were summing her but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. She'd read about the Grey beards of High Hrothgar, they were secluded inside the monestary atop the mountains peek and they hardly interacted with anyone.

She shook her head wondering what the hell was going on in Skyrim. Here only a short time and a number of unbelievable things had already occurred. Dragons were coming back, the Grey beards were speaking, and she'd actually turned someone for the first time in her life.

 _"Skyrim already seems to be quite the interesting place and I've not even left the hold of Whiterun._

She saw a tent sitting in front of the city which hadn't been there before and walked towards it wondering who'd be camping just outside the city.

She approached a Khajit with white and grey fure who wore fine blue clothes and appraised her with the well recognized look of a businessman. She knew instantly upon making eye contact that this man's goal was to sell her something, and that goal was something he'd likely have no trouble accomplishing.

"Fortunate smiles upon this meeting." The Khajit remarked still sitting down on his mat with his legs folded.

Quintessence figured if he was a traveling trades man she'd might as well see what he had to offer.

"What have you got for sale?"

"Take a look." He said standing and ushering her inside the tent where he had his wares displayed.

She ended up purchasing three empty petty soup gems for 30 gold apiece, four fill petty soul gems for 120 a piece which set her back by 480 septums. Two lesser soul gems for 75 a piece, and three full lesser soul gems for 240 a piece, all of which brought her down from 1540 gold to a measly 160.

In an attempt to make some of her money back she sold him a pair of steel boots of wanning shock she couldn't recall where she'd gotten. He brought the boots for 159 which pushed her back up to 319 which was okay for now she figured. Then she remembered the dead dragon that lay in the field of the western watchtower not far from where she was.

After battering with the man over an acceptable price for the items he thought there to be no way she'd ever procure she instructed Morihatha to return to the watch tower and break down the dragons bone and harvest any scale she was to find. After which she would return to Ri'saad and sell him the bone for 167 and the scale for 87.

She took the unconscious guard off of the Imperials hand and thanked her for her help before turning and making her way back towards the city gates.

The guards in front of it looked a bit taken aback as she approached them and they hurriedly moved to open the gate so that she might pass through. One of the men offered to relieve her of the guard she had slung over he shoulder but she remarked that she was fine with carrying him, the temple of Kynereath was only a short distance away.

She stepped inside the city and the first thing she noticed was the air of awe and excitement that now filled the streets. It was as if something extraordinary had just taken place rosing the whole city into a fit of excitement. Quintessence figured she had an idea or two as to what.

"I don't believe it...you must have did it. You killed the dragon didn't you?" A guard asked once she stepped through the gate.

She nodded and continued over the bridge stopping to observe what seemed to be an argument between a guard and two Redguards. The man was telling them that they didn't belong and couldn't stay in the city. The Redguards argued that they were doing no wrong and that they were only looking for someone.

The guard wasn't having any of that and he still told them they needed to leave, placing a hand upon his blade to ensure they realized this wasn't a debatable matter.

One of the Redguards spat at the ground near his feet and let out an aggravated growl.

"This is not the last you've seen of us, we will be back."

The guard choose not to reply. He only motioned them towards the gate and the men bregrudgingly turned and began walking till one of them stopped in front of Quintessence.

"You there, we're looking for someone from Whiterun. We will pay good money for information."

"Who're you looking for?" She asked more curious than anything. Really she had no intention of helping the men find whoever it was they sought.

"A woman, a foreigner in these lands, Redguard like us. She's likely not using her real name. We will pay you for any information that aids us in her capture."

"Why are you looking for this person?"

"That is none of your concern." The man replied rather quickly. "All you need to know is that we'll pay you for information. If that doesn't interest you feel free to walk away."

Quintessence scoffed and did just that not bothering to spare the man another thought. She made her way up the stairs near the entrance of the city and walked in the direction towards the temple of Kynereath.

A fairly dark skinned male she knew to be either a Redguard or an Imperial stopped her on her way, questioning her on if she made it to the cloud district very often before remarking that of course she didn't. Quintessence frowned at the improvised man who smelled of hard times. There was likely once a time in his life when he'd been in a position to look down on others but she could now smell that time was no longer upon him.

He had the look of a man who liked to think himself above others and wore fine robes as a way to protray the image that he was above most people, but her nose revealed to her a few obvious truths. The man smelled of cotton bed sheets, rather than silk. His fine clothes smelled heavily of his scent meaning they were likely his only pair. Wealthy individuals had a different pair of fine clothes that might look exactly the same for everyday of the week.

He smelled of watered down med, not of spiced wine or brandy. His eyes while projecting an air of superiority held nothing. No true purpose, no pride. Nothing that reflected anything that'd make her believe the man before her was anyone of any real importance.

The man was likely once a successful entrepreneur who'd lost half of his assets upon being divorced by a resentful wife. Afterwards he'd likely left his country of origin for Skyrim but found the land of mistrustful Nords and frozen landscapes wouldn't provide him with the same avenues of amassing wealth as he'd likely had in his homeland.

Maybe the disgraced son of a noble banished away and forced to live the rest of his life in exile? Really Quintessence didn't know, she could only assume. All she did know with a certainty was the man definitely had the posture of a man of higher means, but he didn't have the pockets. He'd definitely once been a somebody, but now she wouldn't even deem him fit to wipe the mamouth dung from Morihatha's boots.

Although it might just be fun to one day see how far a man such as him would be willing to degrade himself for a few septums. She inwardly grinned at the thought and made a mental note to pay the man a visit one day when she was bored and had a few septums to throw around.

Not bothering to waste a breath replying to his statement she stepped right past him and continued on her way feeling his surprise but paying it no mind. She'd be sure to satisfy her fleeting curiousity concerning the fallen mans past one day, and perhaps even correct him for the grevious error of looking upon her as if she was to be roped in with the rest of the cities squalor.

Afterwards she would have fun with him seeing just how much more of his pride he could lose over a few septums. Not today however, today she had things of actual importance to address, like this dragon born business and her report to Balgruuf.

She dropped the soldier off at the temple letting the priestess know he was only in need of rest before saying a prayer to the goddess and continuing on her way to the Jarl's palace.

She entered the palace and made her way towards the throne sitting beyond the fire pit. Proventus said something to her about the Jarl waiting on her presence and she fought the urge to roll her eye. Of course he was. Who else was going to give him a report? Surely a man like Balgruuf knew Irileth, diligent as she was would stay behind to ensure everything was taken care of after such an event.

"We were just talking about you. My brother needs a word with you."

Quintessence nodded to the man not wanting to be disrespectful since he was the Jarl's brother. She wondered what kind of conversation concerning her a Jarl could be having with his stewards

She came to stand in front of Balgruuf and she immediately noticed a sense of wonder in his eyes as he gazed past her towards the distance somewhere her eyes couldn't readily see. The call of the Grey beards hadn't only enchanted the common folk of Whiterun she realized.

"So what happened at the watchtower? Was the dragon there?" Balgruuf asked his eyes finally focusing in on her. His voice urgent, but asking a question she knew he had the answer to. It was obvious in his demeanor, his voice and his scent.

"The watchtower was destroyed, but we killed the dragon." She said figuring she might as well play along. The Jarl would get to the point soon enough.

"I knew I could count on Irileth...but there must be more to it than that."

"When the dragon died I absorbed some kind of power from it." She said telling the man what he really wanted to know.

"So it's true, the Greybeards really were summoning you."

"I didn't believe it myself honestly. It's still pretty hard to believe." She remarked realizing there was really no doubt anymore.

"You know of the Greybeards?" Balgruuf questioned surprised by the Breton woman's knowledge on something that wasn't really spoken about or acknowledged much outside of Skyrim.

"I read a lot of books." She answered plainly.

Balgruuf nodded figuring that made sense. Rongar looked at the woman in wonder while Proventus looked confused as to what was going on.

"You better get up to High Hrothgar immediately. There's no refusing the summons of the greybeards...it's a magnificent honor. I envy you ya know. To climb the seven thousand steps again..I lead a pilgrimage once did you know that? High Hrothgar is a very..peaceful place, very...disconnected from the troubles of this world. I wonder if the Greybeards even wonder what's going on down here. They haven't seemed to care in the past."

"You've done a great service for me and my city dragonborn. By my right as Jarl I name you thane of Whiterun. It is the greatest honor which is in my power to grant. I hereby name Lydia to serve as your personal house Jarl. I'll also notify the guards of your bew title. Wouldn't want them to confuse you with the common rable now would we? It is an honor to have you as thane of our great city, dragonborn."

 **Author's note**

 **When you think about it, all of eternity in Hircine's hunting grounds doesn't sound half as bad as all of eternity in Coldhabor. Even if you're the prey in the hunting grounds, everyone's a bitch in Coldhabor. Rather be the prey than the unwilling sex toy or torture doll...but hey, that's just me!**

 **I feel like I need to start making these chapters longer or they can continue to be made to encompass the span of an individual quest like I've been doing so far idk.**


	8. You're like us

**Quintessence will do a bit of pondering into a certain matter in this chapter. She's a scholar at heart so it's a given she'll be one to think and theorize a lot about things she finds interesting. Remember she's just theorizing about things so don't take offense if you have conflicting views. Keep in mind I'm still basically just setting the tone for the story to really begin, and I like people to have a good understanding of my characters and how they work/think.** **I hope you guys will enjoy the chapter. Please review if you have any suggestions for me.**

 _You're like us_

 **10K Words**

After her help in slaying the dragon at the western watchtower Balgruuf not only named Quintessence Thane of Whiterun but he'd also assigned her a personal servent or a house Jarl of her own, regardless of the fact she had no house she could lay claim to. However he did inform her that she was now permitted to purchase property within the city so she figured she'd be able to one day remedy that problem.

After presenting the Jarl with the head of the bandit chief at Redoran's retreat Proventus informed her that there was a house currently available for five thousand gold.

A place to call her own sounded nice, not that the Bannered mare didn't hold it's own charm.

Currently she and Morihatha sat inside their room of the inn waiting for the sun to fall so they could head back to Riverwood and make a request of Faendal. Lydia sat with them in the middle of the room while Quintessence sat on her bed and Morihatha on hers.

Quintessence talked to Hulda about getting Lydia a room but Lydia turned down the bretons generosity saying she'd be just fine with a chair and the rug on the middle of the floor.

Quintessence relented to the women's decision deciding she'd save coin that way but little did Lydia know she would only let it slide this once. It was nothing to allow the woman to rest in either her or Morihatha's bed since she was the only one who actually required sleep.

Quintessence found the fact that Morihatha couldn't yet step into the sunlight to be an inconvenience but it wouldn't last for much longer so she would endure. A part of her found Lydia's very presence to be an incovenience but Balgruuf insisted she'd be nothing but a benefit.

Lydia didn't know what they were but the very moment they were outside of Whiterun she'd find out as Quintessence wasn't going to take any chances on a rogue element traveling with her and her hand madien. Lydia remarked that she would serve Quintessence to the best of her abilities and lay her life down at her feet without a moment's hesitation.

While the breton somewhat liked the idea of such a loyal follower she still wasn't sure if the woman was as dedicated as she said, or if she'd still be so dedicated once her and Morihatha's true nature's were revealed to her.

Morihatha didn't trust the woman or she just didn't like her. It was pretty obvious as she had yet to stop glaring since Lydia sat down at the table between them. The breton was sure the woman was aware, but Lydia seemingly paid the Imperial no mind.

She now had a Nord and an Imperial sworn to her service. She was somewhat uncomfortable with the thought as she'd had servents before but personal servents were new territory and Lydia was an odd one at that.

While fiercely loyal and devote Morihatha was her own person, that much was easy to see when she expressed herself. Niether of them could really get a read off Lydia though and it struck them as odd. It was like the woman's sole purpose was to be at Quintessa's beck and call, and besides expressing a desire to serve she didn't express herself at all.

Either the woman was keeping an air of professional distance, she was keeping silent because she found her new job less than desirable, or that was just how she was...unexpressive and completely placid. She didn't even look pleased a moment ago when Quintessence gave her a few septums and told her she could go grab an ale or two if she wished. The woman simply nodded in appreciation and thanked the breton before heading towards the main room of the inn.

Morihatha let out a low growl as the woman left and was out of earshot. Quintessence raised her head from the book she was reading to shoot the woman a questioning look. "You don't trust her?"

"No." Morihatha replied immediately.

"Why not?" Quintessence curiously inquired.

"She claims to work for you now but the fact remains that the woman used to be a servant of the Jarl's, and she likely still holds allegiance to Whiterun above all else. The Dragonborn is a very powerful figure to the Nords. The name alone gives you a certain amount of power and sway with the people of Skyrim and the Jarl knows this. I think he assigned Lydia to you as something of a spy or maybe even a potential assassin should you and he become enemies."

Quintessence looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered the woman's words. "That's actually pretty well thought out, but I think you're over reading it. If the title of Dragonborn is what you say it's possible Balgruuf assigned her to me as a way to garner my favor."

"Possibly." Morihatha remarked looking at the wall before turning back towards Quintessence. "I still wouldn't trust her though."

The mage could only smirk and close her book before laying down on her bed and telling her companion she'd be resting for a few hours as she felt fatigued for some reason. Morihatha nodded and pulled out the journal Quintessence had purchased her from Belathars General goods store.

Quintessence laid her head on the bundle of animal furs that served as a pillow and pretty soon sleep claimed the last of her conscious mind.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The breton opened her eyes to a sky seemingly alit with fire that rained death on the military outpost that doubled as a town just inside the hold of Falkreath right on the border of Whiterun hold.

Her chest swelled with dread as recollection of the scene was as fresh in her mind as ever. Unlike the time she'd been at Helgen there was not a single other person in sight or ear reach. Besides the sound of the town and the keep burning the only sound that was heard was the sound of meteors slamming into the ground and into buildings.

Another sound broke the errie silence that was accompanied only by the sounds of destruction and Quintessence found the dread in her chest intensify greatly as she recognized the sound as the wind pushing up against a dragons wings.

She gazed to the sky in horror as a familiar black shape tore through the fiery clouds and landed a short distance away, causing her to fall as the ground quaked under the impact of the heavy dragons body. She looked up to find the dragon glaring at her with eyes that burned with a fire greater than the flames of oblivion.

 **"Dovahkiin."** The creature spoke in a voice laced with hatred and distgust for what she was.

Quintessence opened her mouth but found she couldn't reply. Her own fear had paralyzed her much to her dismay, and the irony of such a thing was not lost on her. The creature tilted his head and observed her for a moment before pulling it's head back and letting out a sound that oddly enough sounded like laughter to her ears.

The breton thought she might have liked the hearty sound had it not been directed towards her, and she found a bit of heat rushing to her face as she felt embarrassed for some reason.

 **"That this...pathetic and quivering mass of flesh is one who claims the name of Dov both angers and amuses me greatly."**

Quintessa's eyes widened upon realizing the dragon was speaking both out loud and directly inside of her head and she could actually understand it. The language it spoke out loud was still alien to her, but the language spoken inside her head wasn't even any kind of language per say, but somehow it was thought and feeling translated in a way she was able to understand.

 **"How you,"** The creature spat, **"were actually capable of defeating Mad Sky Lover is beyond my understanding. Perhaps it was another mortal who delt the killing blow. Surely someone so pathetic would stand no chance against the might of a Dov."** It said sneering at her in distgust.

Quintessence felt an anger the the likes of which she'd never before felt rise to consume her being. She rose from the ground to glare daggers at the creature that towered over her.

"Stop calling me pathetic you stupid mass of oversized lizard! I don't know who in oblivion you _think_ you are but, you aren't above getting the same treatment as your dead friend!" She growled unwilling to let this creature keep talking down on her. She didn't care if he killed her now, she'd die with her pride intact.

Much to her shock and satisfaction the dragon looked taken aback for a moment before what she assumed to be a grin took over it's features and he let out another howl of laughter.

" **Now you brandish the inner fire of the Dov. However..it will do you no good to attempt to make do on such a meaningless threat."** The creature growled, **"I am Alduin..third shard of Aka...first born of Akatosh..mightiest of the Dov...destroyer of time and all things!"** The dragon roared causing Quintessence to pale as her fear took on a greater form.

She'd read a book about the three shards of Aka before and Alduin was a name she'd never forget. The dragon before her was literally the only physical manefestation of an Aedra to exist since the creation of Nirn as far as she knew.

Auriel the beginning of time, Akatosh the preservation of time, and Alduin the end of time. The end of everything. A literal figure meant to end the world. A time deity that represented destruction. A God in the physical form.

Alduin looked at the fearful creature and found her stunned silence and her look of utter terror pleasing to behold. That was, until something internal broke her out of her stupor and the fire returned to those golden orbs he couldn't help but find interesting. He'd never before known a joore that didn't belong to the races of Blackmarsh to have golden eyes. Such a sight was a scarcity among all the other races of man and mer, and even a rarity among the Dov.

"Honestly I don't care who you are, Aedra, Deadra or frikking Sithis. Anyone who underestimates me regrets it. Make the same mistake and you might just wind up like your friend." She threatened sounding much more confident than she actually felt.

Alduin once again found himself surprised by the foolish joore but he couldn't help grinning at the fire he saw in the creature. He would enjoy breaking her and forever extinguishing that flame when the time came. In fact, he couldn't think of anything he was looking forward to more.

 **"Keep that energy Dovahkiin, you'll need it."**

Quintessence growled for the second time that day irritated that the dragon was somehow intruding on her sleep and she was unable to force herself awake. Although she was putting on a brave front the creatures very presence was still terrifying her to no end, even more so now than before considering she knew exactly who and what he was.

Her anger was the only thing that was really allowing her to stand her ground and she pulled on that feeling to fuel her next reply.

"Leave me." She commanded tired of entertaining the Aedric being.

Alduin's eyes widened and he let loose an indignant roar wondering who the woman thought she was to command him, a God to do anything.

If he could harm her here within the recesses of her mind he'd have already begun to make her pay dearly for her disrespect.

 **"We will be seeing each other again Dovahkiin. Perhaps sooner than you think."** Alduin said before voicing a shout she didn't recognize and disappering as if he'd never been there in the first place.

Quintessence jolted awake startling Morihatha who'd moved across the room to check on the woman when she'd heard a growl escape her in her sleep. She could tell from the look on the bretons face something had frightened her greatly.

She wondered if the woman was often prone to nightmares but decided that sounded pretty foolish considering if she was it was likely she just wouldn't sleep.

"Are you okay, milady?" The Imperial asked tentatively placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I- I'm fine...thank you for your concern." Quintessence said moving the woman's hand and laying back down to think.

The dragon she'd encountered at Helgen was Alduin, the world eater himself. That meant if he was back the world was destined for destruction. It was the beginning of the end times.

Not only that but the creature had intruded on her dreams for some reason just to mock her. She didn't even know such a thing was possible but she figured it was likely a shout of some kind he used as she could think of no other way. It certainly explained the uncharacteristic fatigue she'd felt for the first time ever.

She hardly wanted to think about the end of the world being right around the corner, or her own inability to sleep without being mocked inside her own subconscious, so she turned her thoughts elsewhere. It was common knowledge among scholars that Akatosh was just one piece of the oversoul that was Aka.

Mostly everyone who knew of the three shards really only acknowledged Auriel and Akatosh to be real. Everyone else thought Alduin was only a none physical metaphor for the end of time, not an actual physical entity or an actual shard of Aka.

From what she gathered most people assumed Akatosh would one day shift into Alduin and time would just cease to be. No one associated the Alduin from the ancient prophecy with the Alduin who'd ruled over Skyrim years ago. Well...no one besides the ancient Nords who were always proving themselves to have been much more intelligent than anyone ever bothered giving them credit for.

What's more is he referred to himself as third shard of Aka but first born of Akatosh. Auriel and Akatosh were both born directly of Aka as far as she knew, but Alduin was born of Akatosh apparently.

If Auriel was the beginning of time and Akatosh was it's peservation naturally Akatosh would be stronger because it took more effort to preserve something than it did to start it, such as a flame or a continuous spell, or so she thought but really it depended on what was being created and what was being preserved.

If Alduin was made by Akatosh with the intent to destroy what he kept whole that meant Alduin had to have been created at least equal to or stronger than Akatosh.

The chief God had likely literally halved himself to create the world eater, yet Alduin didn't seem that powerful. While true the dragon did seem scarily powerful he didn't seem THAT powerful, so maybe he wasn't currently as strong as he should be...or maybe things weren't as simple as she assumed. Regardless of where the three aedric shards of divinity were in comparison to one another the power the world eater radiated was immense.

She wondered how the ancient Nordic hero's had even been able to defeat someone of such immense power. Where had Alduin been during the many years he disappered and why was he back all of a sudden.

It now made sense why she felt so connected to him though if she was Dragonborn. The book of The Dragonborn which she'd been reading before she'd fallen asleep said that all dragonborn came directly from Akatosh, meaning they were essentially shards same as the three dieties of time.

If Alduin's job was to destroy all of time it was likely that his only way of doing so would be to overpower and consume his father/brother or whatever, Akatosh. In doing so there would be nothing left to preserve time and it would simply cease to exist.

Using that logic it was really no wonder Alduin thought it was his birth right to rule over everything. He'd been born with the specific purpose of consuming the world's strongest deity. If time ceased to exist wouldn't all of Mundas perish in the process? Were the other dieties just fine with this, or had the Aedra all grown bored with their creation and decided they'd rather be done with it?

If Alduin was allowed to complete his task then what? Would he go back to being Aka or would he still be Alduin? Would the original spirits of Aedric descent be returned to their original state of being?

She wondered if when Auriels job of creating time was finished did the deity even continue to exist or was it absorbed into Akatosh? Did the Aldmeri God still exist on it's own, or was it once again the original being that was Aka? If Akatosh existed to preserve time then what purpose could Auriel possibly still serve in the great scheme of things?

Then again Alduin still existed and time hadn't yet meant it's end so it's not like Auriel should have ceased to exist just because he wasn't currently fufiling some purpose. If she went off that logic then it was safe to say since Alduin existed before meeting with his goal or purpose of being that Auriel existed even before the beginning of time. Which also made sense considering most of the deities that existed now existed before the creation of Nirn.

Of course he existed before such in the form of Aka but by this knowledge he'd done so in the form of Auriel as well and so had Akatosh. So if Auriel still existed after even serving his original purpose then so would Alduin exist after serving his? But what would be the purpose of having two or three dieties of time if time ceased to exist? If Alduin did consume Akatosh maybe Auriel would make a new timeline and Alduin would become a new Akatosh of sorts, but Quintessence couldn't see that happening.

Maybe Alduin would become Aka again and Aka would create a new Akatosh. Maybe once the world was gone the God's who'd sacrificed parts of themselves to create it would go back to what they once were. Maybe that was Alduin's purpose. If that were the case she could definitely see the time deities joining together once again to form Aka. She knew she was only tossing around random theories but her mind couldn't help it.

She'd always wondered about the whole shards of Aka thing. Auriel was just the Aldmeri version of Akatosh and Alduin was the Nordic version of that. Three dieties to make up the complete face of one God or Aedric being, all created by separate races.

She believed the entire shard of Aka thing because it made sense. Even more so now that she'd actually meant Alduin and he'd said as much. But the fact that three separate races created the three shards independently was something that still begged consideration regardless of whether or not they all truly existed. How did three separate races develope this theory and slam it all together in a way that practically presented it as irrefutable.

Some form of divine inspiration taking place among a certain group of individuals was what usually brought one to the knowledge or belief of a deity. Yet in this situation three separate races all receive different types of divine inspiration concerning their God's. All three of the dieties faces were concieved and acknowledged by all three races independently. It was somewhat baffling.

The Imperials took the Nordic goddess Kyne and transformed her into Kynereath. It was widely acknowledged that Kyne was developed, or discovered (whichever you'd prefer) by the Nords and then adapted by the Imperial's into Kynereath to better suit their patheleon. This was the situation with more that one divine, but the difference between the others and the shards of Aka was a glaring one that was too obvious to have need to make itself known.

The deities along with the shards of Aka origins story were all developed almost entirely independent of any outside influences. They were all acknowledged to be different people, different deities with the same origin, essentially three pieces to a three pieced puzzle.

Kyne and Kynereath like the other divines in a similar boat were acknowledged by different names in different circles, but they were both generally acknowledged to be the same person or same deity, just slightly altered by the beliefs of another race. The fact that each race who had a hand in the origin story of the time deities all developed their own versions of said deity completely independent of each other along with the exact same origin story was nothing sort of amazing.

She was a bit jealous the Bretons didn't have their own version of the story. The other races who didn't have a hand in the story of the time dieties really had no need to create their own version of Akatosh.

The Dunmer had/have Azura and the living tribunal. The Argonians have the Hist. The Osmer have Malacath. The Dwemer had their technology and the Nimidium, and the Khajit have their crazy creation story no one seemed to have ever heard about, although it did sound so outlandish not even most Khajit seem to believe it.

So where did the Bretons come in in all this? The answer was nowhere.. They didn't have a hand in the origins of the three shards of Aka. For that she'd always held onto a bit of childish resentment but nevermind that she was getting off topic.

If Akatosh created Alduin as an equal being to himself then why hadn't Alduin destroyed Nirn yet? If Akatosh was stronger than the world eater how would the creature possibly gain enough strength to defeat the chief God of time? Who was really stronger, Auriel or Akatosh? If time was relative Auriel and Akatosh would both always exist whether or not they returned to Aka, that is if Alduin didn't devour Akatosh and put an end to time itself. Then again regardless of if time was relative or not deities were not subject to its its influence.

Time encompassed all of creation. It wasn't an idea, it wasn't relative to people's imagination, or simply just a mortal concept. It was an actual abstract with a physical presence you could see on the world as it moved forward and things aged. If time disappered it was very likely the world would go with it, which was why Alduin reffered to himself as the end of everything.

The Revelation concerning the dragon had definitely given her a lot to think about. Already after finding out the world was close to it's end she took the little bit of knowledge she'd just been granted and began formulating her own thoughts and theories, truly Quintessence was a scholar at heart.

When she thought about it though, if the dragonborn was born directly of Akatosh then she was every bit a diety as Alduin. Just born of the flesh of a mortal woman rather than born directly of the spirit of another spirit.

Maybe that was why Alduin hated her so much, aside from her very existence being the bane of his kind. She was essentially a piece of divinty same as him, only to a much lesser extent. It was likely that as far as Alduin was concerned he should be the only divine being with a physical presence on Nirn. The thought of her very existence being a blight to the creature brought a smile to her lips.

She wondered about that. If he hated her so much for only possessing a small piece of divinty what did he think of the Deadra who openly flaunted their power. He likely despised them with a passion. She wondered what they thought about him. Did the thought of the world eater intimidate them or could they really not be bothered to care.

Aedra, Deadra, and elderscrolls were the only things immune to time after all. At least as far as she knew. The Deadra would have no reason to fear Alduin's return as all they'd lose with the destruction of the world was their play things. They likely didn't like the Aedra for that reason though she figured.

Really she didn't know if most of what she was thinking was speculation or not, but she couldn't help thinking it. Maybe she'd ask him the next time their paths crossed. That is if he didn't immediately take up an effort to kill her again like he'd done at Helgen, and if she could actually understand him the next time.

She entertained the idea of going back to sleep but found she was wide awake now and had no desire to. She had so many questions, so many theories that began to swim around in her head, it was as if they were all yelling at her.

She wondered where besides Alduin she might actually get some answers and the question quickly answered itself, the Greybeards.

She couldn't help but grin again at the prospect of actually having more of her questions answered but Morihatha was still too young to take such a trip without risk. Falkreath wasn't that far away on their map and if they left as soon as the sun set they might reach the town with enough time to climb the seven thousand steps Balgruuf mentioned before the next sunrise.

If not they could stay in the inn the town was sure to have, but then there was the fact that new born vampires didn't do well in calm environments for long. They needed blood sheed and chaos in small doses like a sort of medicine to help them keep their sanity.

She decided they would wait about a week in Whiterun before setting out towards the monestary. It would give Quintessence some time to aqiuant herself with the city better. Make some more coin, and satisfy the bloodlust Morihatha practically radiated at times.

She allowed herself to exit her thoughts and sat up to look curiously at Morihatha who still sat on the edge of her bed looking at her with her own look of curiously.

"What time is it Empress?"

The woman turned towards the timer candle sitting beside the lantern on the table in the middle of the room.

"Two hours until sunset." She remarked knowing what her lady wanted to know.

Quintessa's grin returned in full force and she regarded Morihatha with a smile she usually only displayed when inflicting undue harm on someone.

Morihatha recognized that grin as the wicked grin of delight she'd tormented her with during her time spent paralyzed on the floor mat in ironbreaker mine.

It made her nervous seeing that gaze directed her way.

"I'm almost sure Hulda has more bounties from the Jarl. I think tonight will be the perfect opportunity to indulge in your blood lust. Wouldn't you agree?"

Morihatha's eyes widened not expecting the woman to give her the opportunity to tear into something so soon. The urge had never left her. It'd stuck with her every moment since the fear she'd smelled earlier had awakened the feeling. It's why she currently sat in the room instead of sitting in the front room drinking and sharing stories with the Inn's other occupants. She didn't trust herself not to give into it if she smelled someone in fear again.

Her eyes flooded red involuntarily and her fangs elongated to the point that they were now noticable. She grinned as her heart rate picked up speed at the thought of ripping into various poor unsuspecting and fearful low lives.

Oddly enough the very thought of it was turning her on and her words of agreement left her lips before she'd even known she'd opened her mouth to answer. Quintessa's smile brightened and she caste a spell on the woman catching her as her eyes closed and her body slumped.

She moved herself off of the bed and laid Morihatha down not fully trusting the Imperial not to give into her instincts while she was gone. She'd been the only thing holding her back before so she couldn't really take any chances on the woman being conscious in her absence.

She stood and wondered if she should grab her satchel but decided against it. She was only walking towards the main room of the Inn anyway.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

At a distance silent moon camp looked to be more of an old ruin than what you'd come to expect of a bandit camp. While not nearly as impressive as bleak falls barrow the ruins were still pretty impressive if not a bit underwhelming.

She'd expected a cave of shorts filled with at least a decent amount of bandits. Not a ruin guarded on the outside by a handful of fodder.

To the right of the ruins was a small creek where she'd soul trapped and killed three mud crab. There'd been a bandit close by who Lydia and Morihatha engaged and finished off before she'd even finished harvesting the mudcrab chitins.

Fodder just like she'd thought.

Morihatha and Lydia moved in on the ruins while she searched the corpse of their downed bandit friend, relieving him of 16 septums and 19 iron arrows. She began walking towards the stairs that lead upwards towards what she assumed was a forge judging by the smell.

She stepped over the body of a fallen bandit who looked to be a mage, relieving him of a lockpick, and minor magicka potion. She continued towards the top of the steps and almost paused at what she smelled. A massive amount of blood and fear she knew to likely be interconnected.

She passed through the wide stone archway of the ruin and rounded a corner to see a very stunned and horrified looking Lydia standing in the forges doorway, gazing upon an elated looking Morihatha. The Imperial woman was standing half crouched over some poor dying bandit male with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a hole in his stomach.

She was currently digging inside that hole, playing around with the man's insides as her other hand stood by on guard duty swatting his hands aside when he tried to interviene, and slapping him back to his senses whenever it appeared that he might pass out from the pain she was inflicting. There was a descent amount of blood on her face and if Quintessence was to judge at the body in the corner by the work bench she'd used her bare teeth to rip some poor sodes throat out.

Quintessence moved past Lydia to shuffle through the trunk in the room a few feet away from where Morihatha was playing with the poor man who would've been lucky to have been considered food in place of a toy. She found an empty common soul gem, 116 septums, three lockpicks, a necklace of the knight, a pair of novice robes of conjuration and an iron sword of embers. There was more in the chest but she only took what she thought to be of some use or value.

Morihatha had gone from playing with the man's insides to cutting him up on the outside and enjoying it just as much. Lydia looked like she might throw up any second now and Quintessence briefly wondered if it was her fear or her utter shock keeping her rooted to the spot.

Another bandit lay in the corner trembling in terror at the scene she was trying her hardest to ignore. Her eyes were fixed on the cruel Imperial new born who was shivering with waves of pleasure as she tortured the Nordic male who by all means was already a dead man if one were to go off the hole in his stomach.

Quintessence saw this as an opportunity to show Lydia that Morihatha wasn't the only one out of their little group who had an appetite for blood. She'd eaten two days ago before she left Riverwood, unable to help but get another taste of Alvor's wife. The blacksmith really did have fine taste.

Granted she wasn't that hungry, but vampires were always hungry enough to feed even when they had no need. She walked towards the woman who scurried away a bit in fear and Quintessence only smirked using that same fear to paralyze the woman.

"Lydia," She called allowing her fangs to elongate and her eyes to flood red putting her true nature on display for the woman. "Offer her to me. Show me the true extent of the loyalty that you would extend towards your Thane." She commanded with a point towards the fearful bandit woman who began to pray to any divine who would listen that this wouldn't be her end, that this was all some kind of terrifying dream she could personally credit to Vermina, the daedric prince of nightmare.

Lydia looked at her in complete shock and disbelief for a moment before her expression quickly became as placid as it was usually. Without so much as a word of discontent, reluctance, or disagreement Lydia moved towards the now unmoving bandit, pulled her to her feet, grabbed her by the hair and exposed her neck for the breton to feed from.

Quintessence allowed herself to grin and figured Lydia just might have honestly meant what she said, that or from now on she'd be waiting for the first chance to escape her and her hand madiens company. Either way though Quintessence was pleased and even impressed with the woman, and she let her know as much.

The two waited where they were for the next three minutes as Morihatha tortured the man before her till his screams began growing weaker as the last of his life began leaving him along with any form of entertainment he'd been providing the fledgling vampire.

Morihatha growled seeing her fun was coming to an end and in another display that managed to both shock and frighten Lydia she began tearing the man to pieces before he could die, earning herself yet another lovely set of screams that sung to her ears and filled her heart and soul with a beautiful feeling of satisfaction and fufilment she could have never hoped to experience anywhere else.

When all that remained of the man was scattered flesh and limbs she turned towards Quintessence and the woman who was with her before her eyes landed on the only bandit unlucky enough to still be alive at the moment.

Her expression grew hopeful though it only stayed that way for a moment. When Lydia shoved the woman in her direction Morihatha's face became twisted into a pure canvas of pleasure.

She took her time with this one, cutting her up slowly...tearing at her flesh here and there, paying specific attention to what actions resulted in the loudest cries of pain. She found the smell of her utter terror intoxicating. The act of spilling her blood invigorating! The act of dominating someone weaker than her was addicting!

Thirty minutes after she started she was nearly fully coated in the woman's blood. She'd stopped screaming from exhaustion just like the man did before her but she knew how to react this time. She began ripping the woman apart slowly, being sure not to get too excited when she cried out. If that happened she'd likely just tear through the woman in her elation.

For another thirty minutes she bathed herself in the blood and cries of her second victim till the woman no longer made a peep and all that remained was a horrifically ravaged and empty husk.

She felt herself coming back to herself and she looked at the carnage surrounding her knowing she should be ashamed or at least feel a bit guilty but...

"I want more." The woman spoke in a sharp tone that would accept nothing less than exactly what it was she was asking for.

Lydia, who was already pretty pale in the face, blanched and began to think she might just throw up if she was forced to witness something so savage again so soon.

Quintessence wondered just how much new vampires needed to sate their appetite for carnage and domination, but she was willing to allow the woman to indulge in her desire until she had her fill.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Quintessence sat outside the ruin with Lydia, inquiring with the woman about her life prior to her service to the Jarl. Much to her surprise the Nord would spare her no facts about herself other than that for the most part she grew up an orphan without a home and eventually swore herself to the service of the Jarl knowing there was really no other way she'd ever have a place to call her own, a place where she belonged.

Quintessence probed further feeling as if there was a big blank space in the womans story. While there were certain things in Skyrim she wasn't aware of, she was well versed in the culture of the country do to her love of reading and gaining knowledge of new things. Housecarls were one of the things she just so happened to have been well read on.

Usually those who were given the position of Housecarl were either hand picked from the ranks of the Jarls most talented soldiers, their closest and most trustworthy assistants, or sold to them as servants at a young age by a family of low means that could use the coin. While slavery was illegal in Skyrim servants were not, and it was not uncommon to find servants in the houses of nobles who'd been groomed their entire lives to do just that, to serve their noble Household.

The difference between servants and slaves was that servants actually had rights and weren't always treated so bad, where as slaves had no rights and were treated as possessions rather than people. She didn't beg Lydia to come from any of the aforementioned categories. There was just something about the woman that identified her as a special case, but the further she probed the more she was meant with blocks or a reluctance to fill her in.

She found this really irritated her. Here the woman was ready to hold a woman still while she feed from her neck, but unwilling to tell her about the part of her past that lead her to where she was today. Quintessence understood that people had their boundaries as well as their painful memories but she found the mystery of Lydia too interesting to just let it go.

She pushed a small amount of magicka to her eyes and commanded that the woman tell her about her past without skipping out on any details, and she had to admire the woman when she saw her fighting against her charm before she sub came to its influence a moment later and began her tail from the beginning.

Lydia was born to a family of commoners who's farm had been to the north of Whiterun hold bordering The Pale.

While she had a few early memories of her life on that farm with her family she'd been very young when she lived with them so she didn't have many. Her family's farm was one day attacked by a group of bandits who'd slain both her mother, her father, and her two elder brothers. The group had found the young girl barely old enough to form coherent sentences sitting in a puddle of her own piss inside her family's farm. Lydia had been forced to listen to the cries of her mother for hours until they'd decided they were finished with the woman and killed her like the rest of her family.

The bandit who'd found her proceeded to laugh upon noticing the terrified child before him had wet herself, and even proceeded to call his buddies over to laugh at her expense as well.

The bandits decided she wasn't even worth the effort to kill and simply told her to leave after having a few more laughs at her expense. The four year old Lydia really hadn't had any other option so she did just that. Walking away from the one place she'd knew her entire life with nothing but the clothes on her back, the tears in her eyes, and the immense pain in her heart.

She wandered around Whiterun hold for months after that barely surviving on her own. Thankfully she'd stuck to the roads and was able to sustain her small body with berries from the bushes that could be found close to the bank of the White river. She'd still been very hungry and very malnourished as she wandered but she hardly even noticed for a while.

All she could really feel was the pain of her lose, up until the void inside her stomach began to fill with a sort of physical pain that seemed to claw at her every waking moment of the day, and prevented her from getting any sleep during the cold Skyrim nights.

She began finding houses to steal from but she wasn't a very good thief and she would usually always get caught, so she learned how to fight so that in those moments when she did get caught she wouldn't be subject to some angry farmers wraith. She lived like that for two years, just barely surviving off the land, her instincts, and what little she could steal.

Eventually she was caught by not just a farmer but the Whiterun guard. She'd been brought to the city to pay for her crimes, but upon the Jarl's scribe making it known that she was the Lydia whose parents were lost with the destruction of her farm a much younger Balgruuf way layed any kind of punishment figuring she'd only been doing what she needed to do to survive like anyone else would have in her shoes.

He had the girl pardoned for her crimes and even allowed her to stay within the confines of his palace for a week. Unfortunately though all her families assets were lost when their farm was pillaged so there was nothing more he could do for her. Lydia spent that one week inside the Jarl's palace remembering what it actually felt like to have a home. To have a bed to call your own. To have a warm meal prepared for you. To feel protected from the elements and generally safe behind the comfort of walls, and the warmth they could provide.

She knew that this was what she wanted more than anything. She couldn't get her family back, but she just wanted a home. Someplace to call her own. A place where she could feel safe.

After her week at the palace was over she found herself on the streets of Whiterun. She watched the other children her age laughing and playing with each other and going home to their families day after day wishing more than anything that she could have that life. She couldn't recall a time in her life when she'd felt so lonely as when she watched the children her age interacting with their families and each other.

She had actually felt less alone when she was outside the city, surrounded by nothing but open plans, comforted by nothing save the sound of her own breathing.

She got by chopping wood to pay for her daily meals at the inn, but she didn't make enough to afford a room, so she slept on the side of the building down wind of one of it's brazzers so that if she was lucky when the wind blew she'd be graced with the warm air from the coals instead of the cold air from the mountains to the North, the South, and the East.

She lived like that for around a year just watching her life go by with no feelings purpose or meaning. She simply lived because she had to. She frequently dreamed of the night her family meant their end at the hands of the bandits.

In the good versions of the dream the bandits took her life right after finding her, which always caused her to wake with a start and wish that that'd actually been what had happened on that day. In the bad versions of the dream things flowed exactly as they did in reality and she'd usually wake with eyes full of tears.

She'd cry as quietly as she could on the side of the inn after that, usually until her sobs rocked her body back into the uncomfortable sleep on the animal fures the Inn keeper had been so kind as to spare her as a bed.

Two years after coming to Whiterun when Lydia was eight she'd heard talk among a group of soldiers about a position known as an open position in Dragonsreach for something called a Housecarl. Needless to say when she heard the position involved one living inside the house of their lord or lady she was enthralled by the idea. All Lydia wanted was a nice warm house to live in like everybody else. It didn't even have to be a home, or even comfortable for that matter and she'd be just fine with that.

She showed up to Balgruuf's palace the very next day requesting to be put into the running for the position. Naturally the Jarl's steward only scoffed at the dirty eight year old girl waltzing into the palace and asking to be considered for such an important position. Balgruuf saw a fire in the girls eyes however and instructed his young steward to do as she asked.

When the time came and the decision was made Lydia had been sorely disappointed to find the Jarl had chosen some red headed Dunmer women to serve as his housecarl, but really it was to be expected she figured. She was only a kid with no real experience with battle or matters of the court.

She'd been wholly shocked when the day after that one of the Jarl's personal guards approached her at her usual spot beside the Inn and informed her that she was to report to Dragonsreach to begin her instruction to serve as an impersonal housecarl for the whole of Whiterun court tomorrow morning at seven am sharp. The man gave her a note with the stamp of the Jarl on it that was meant for the servants who attended to the palace. It stated she was to be given a room somewhere within the servants quarters and feed as much as she wished to eat. Her new home would be the palace of Dragonsreach.

Lydia had cried for what was hours after that, never being able to recall a moment in her life when she'd been happier. For the next three years of her life she trained to be a housecarl and for nineteen years after that she served as one all the way up until Quintessence showed up and she was told she'd be serving her from now on and Balgruuf even made her swear herself to the womans service.

Still under the influence of the womans charm she informed her that while she was a very capable fighter she wasn't very good at the political side of work housecarls were occasionally faced with. She was far too introverted, too anti social, and even unpresentable in front of the court due to her lack of social skills.

Balgruuf had always been patient with her but most of the residents of Dragonsreach did nothing to hide how they felt about the woman. Like she was a waste of space who hadn't deserved her position but Lydia never really cared. While the palace had never been a home seeing as the only person who actually seemed to like her was Balgruuf it was still something of a house she lived in she could call her own.

When Quintessence came along it changed everything however. Balgruuf saw how dedicated Morihatha was to her ladies service and thought the woman seemed attentive enough to her companion for him to turn over Lydia to her service. Lydia was almost certain the denizens of Dragonsreach were throwing a party at her long awaited departure. She didn't blame Balgruuf however, the man had done so much for her already, all of which he only did out of the kindness of his heart.

Unable to keep herself from lying or even skating around the truth while under the charm she went on to tell Quintessence that while she was sworn to the womans service and would not betray or hurt her in anyway she hated both her and her companion.

She hadn't really been happy but she'd been content with the way things were in her life before being sworn to this penniless mage and her deranged warrior companion, both of whom happened to be not only vampires but homeless as well. Essentially she was back to square one except now she was not only homeless, but was the servant of some woman she didn't know trust or think particularly fondly of for that matter.

Quintessence had shown up and taken the one thing from her she'd wanted all her life. She was kicked out of the warm house she had come to know as her own residental dwelling for years now, and forced to follow this upstart thane who really didn't even look the part and just so happened to be homeless.

She informed the breton that being she'd been sworn into her service just to realize she was once again without a place to live was the worst occurrence of her life besides the day her family's farm had been attacked.

Quintessence ended the charm and Lydia went from explaining herself to just venting about how her life had no meaning. It never had and it never really would have one that actually meant something to her. She just wanted to belong. To feel safe somewhere inside the confines of a four walled domicile in which she could call her own or at least feel as if she belonged.

Quintessence looked at the woman with somewhat shocked and more than a little surprised at all that she'd had to say she could see the ghost of tears in the corner of the Nords eyes but she knew Lydia was strong, she wouldn't cry. Speaking all that she felt and recalling the details of her early life had just been hard on her of course.

Lydia was looking straight forward towards the moon in the distance unwilling to meet her Thanes eyes. She had just told the woman that she hated her and found her personally responsible for the second worst incident to take place in her life. She wouldn't be surprised if the breton just released her from her service and left her to her own devices after her little rant.

While she was in no way fond of her new Thane and her companion she knew she wouldn't be able to return to Balgruuf if the woman decided to release her of her oath. She might be homeless again but she didn't want to be alone. She'd never been particularly close to anyone in Dragonsreach and she hardly ever even spoke to anyone, but she hadn't felt lonely while she was there surrounded by servants, nobles and guardsmen. She didn't know if she'd be able to take being completely by herself again while also without a home or a house of any kind.

"Well in a sense you're like us." Quintessence remarked before a bloody hand landed on her shoulder and Lydia almost went into panic mode figuring the womans companion had returned and was about to kill her for her words.

When she turned to see the woman appraising her fully with something in her eyes she thought to be understanding Lydia's face quickly became a mask of confusion and she resisted the urge to pull away not wanting to be rude.

She turned to gaze at Quintessence questioningly till Morihatha spoke up in a low tone that was almost comforting.

"I felt almost exactly the same until I started traveling with our lady. No purpose, no place to call my own. I made my home the first place that would accept me...which just so happened to be the Imperial army. I can understand where you're coming from, but your not homeless even if our lady doesn't have a house of any sort. Your home is with us now. As long as we're here you have somewhere where you'll belong." Morihatha said before pulling away and moving to sit on the other side of Quintessence.

It wasn't missed on Lydia how she said the last sentence plainly as if it was an indisputable fact while the rest of her words were spoken in a manner that was meant to convey comfort and understanding.

She didn't exactly understand the gesture or what she and this other woman had in common but she could appreciate the effort she'd made in consoling her. No one had shown that much care for Lydia in years and the woman hardly knew her.

Quintessence didn't say anything to explain how she thought herself similar to the woman in a way. She just looked at her curiously before tilting her head to the side slightly in a appraising manner as if just seeing her for the first time and attempting to gauge a few more things about her. Lydia blushed a bit at having unwillingly opened up to these two in a way she'd never opened up to anyone before.

She recalled when they were back at the Inn and the woman offered her a room of her own and then gave her coin for drink and food. She'd been treating her nicely within her first few hours of knowing her. Maybe the other womans words weren't too far off base. Maybe these two could give her a place where she could feel as if she belonged. She could only hope, because either way she was stuck with them.

Quintessence saw a bit of the wall the woman held up crumble after she took a moment to think over everything and she smiled warmly at her before turning to her blood soaked companion and giving her a proud grin and a nod of approval.

"I take it the ruins clear and your blood lust is satisfying for now?"

Morihatha nodded her head and began looking a bit sheepish before she remarked that if Quintessence wanted to go in there and search for anything of value she might want to watch her step. She'd done a number on the few bandits she'd found inside.

"I've got the chiefs head though." She remarked proudly holding up a burlap sack that was heavily soaked in blood at one end.

"Good." Quintessence said nodding her approval and standing. "I was planning on taking a trip to Riverwood, but that took a bit longer than I would've expected so we'll return to Whiterun for now. You'll need to wash yourself off inside one of the streams around here before we return to the city though."

Morihatha developed another sheepish and moved to do just that using the stream that happened to be a short walk away from the ruins. Quintessence went inside the ruin to search for any valuable items she might find and Lydia turned her gaze back towards the moon thinking this might not be as bad as she'd originally thought.

Sure she was homeless again, both her companions were vampires, and one of them seemed to be seriously deranged in the sense that she liked to torture people till she was practically a walking canvas of blood, but she somehow got a strong sense of companionship from the two. It was like they were fond of one another and had just decided to let her into their group with open arms.

Lydia didn't feel like the woman would treat her as you'd expect a servant to usually be treated, but she would treat her as if she was her own person.

A house was were one resided but a home was were the things you cared for resided. If she came to care for the two than she would be at home whenever she was with them. She decided she'd attempt to open herself up to the experience since they'd both shown her a small kindness in their own ways.

She stood and moved to the stream Morihatha was currently washing off in to remove the blood stain the Imperial woman had gotten on her armors shoulder plate.

 **Author's note**

 **I got the inspiration for Lydia's back story from some website back when I was into doing research into the elder scrolls and Skyrim in particular. I basically filled in the gapes to a back story someone else suggested, so thank that guy if u can find him cause I honestly don't remember his name or the website. I wanted to make this chapter longer but it was meant to serve a few specific purposes rather than really adding anything to the story other than Lydia, so I guess it's fine.**

 **Sorry it took so long to update.** **Hope the chapter was agreeable.**

 **@Seli:** Thanks for pointing out my mistakes. I was kind of in a rush to upload that chapter so I don't think I proof read for typos lol

 **@Chendong** **2698:** Yep! Glad you're still reading!


	9. Fairy godmothers and hand madiens

**PLEASE READ: Okay regardless of what you might see in the chapter remember this is an Alduin X Quintessence fic, but I'd really like your thoughts on the chapter so I can know how to go about certain 'things' in the future.** **I hope you guys will enjoy!**

 _What the hell was that!?_

 **18K Words**

On their way back to Whiterun the group made small talk attempting to get to know one another better.

Lydia had been surprised when Morihatha recounted the tale of how she'd sentenced Quintessence to death and in a shocking turn found herself at the woman's mercy. The housecarl was holy confused as to how the two ended up being companions after such an ordeal.

She understood that their first few days of interacting with one another was all water under the bridge now, and she found herself amazed at the capacity for forgiveness the women held.

After recounting how they'd meant each other and how Morihatha basically pledged herself to the breton the Imperial began sharing small bits of her past with them. She was born in Cyrodil but she grew up in Skyrim with her grandparents. Her parents had both been Imperial soldiers so they hadn't really been in a position to raise her and ensure she got the attention children needed.

They would visit her when they could, but the Imperial army was in the process of refilling it's ranks after the war so they hadn't been able to visit very often.

One day a letter came in the mail that flipped the young woman's entire world upside down. Her parents had been murdered in a surprise bandit raid on the Imperial carvan they'd been traveling with.

Quintessence scoffed interrupting the woman's story and causing both her followers to look at her with questioning gazes.

"Bandits would never attack an Imperial carvan. Bandits don't even attack parties of city guards in most situations."

Morihatha developed a small frown at how the woman just so casually discounted the tail she'd been told of her parents deaths. "Well that's what the letter I received from the legion said. If it wasn't bandits who did it then who exactly would you say killed my parents?"

The breton was silent for a moment, her pace didn't slow down or quicken. Her eyes were fixed on the road ahead of them and she gave no indication that she'd heard the woman's question. Frown still in place Morihatha turned back towards the road and they continued in silence for three more paces before the woman finally answered.

"A group of bandits wouldn't even be able to threaten an imperial carvan." She said not looking at the Imperial as she spoke. "Just think about how easily me and you alone deal with bandits. They're too independent. To rowdy, disorganized, and untrained. A pack of Sabre cats would have an easier time attacking an Imperial convoy."

Morihatha looked at Quintessence with a look of skepticism until she took a moment to think about it. The woman's words actually made sense, but she couldn't understand why the legion would lie to her about it. Were her parents traders who'd been put to the sword?

"Who do you think killed my parents then?" She asked truly curious. This woman always seemed far more knowledgeable about things then you'd expect her to be, but then again she did mention being over hundreds of years old.

Quintessence looked at her for a moment before returning her gaze to the road ahead. "One of the Thalmors little Inquisitor groups likely killed your parents, and the carvan they were with."

Morihatha frowned at the outlandish claim as well as the picture it caused to form within her mind's eye.

"I think the Altmer are scum just as much as everyone else, but I hardly think they'd be allowed to destroy an Imperial carvan without some kind of punishment befalling them, and what's more...why would the Legate who sent the letter about the death of my parents lie to me?"

Quintessence developed a ghost of a smile but quickly let it fall from her face as not to offend the woman. In most cases she wouldn't care, but she was sure they were now broaching upon what had to be a serious subject for the Imperial.

"I don't think the Altmer in general are scum because of what a minority of them happen to believe. I don't even hate the Aldmeri Dominion, it's only the Thalmor I dislike. My claim isn't so outlandish either. Thalmor Justicares are allowed to kill anyone with near impunity, as long as that person is guilty of Talos worship."

"That doesn't explain how they could have possibly been behind the murder of an entire Imperial convoy. How would they possibly be allowed to get away with such a thing, and why would the Legion try to hide what happened?" Morihatha bite with an air of impatience and annoyance about her. Quintessence knew the woman might end up upset if she spoke her mind. It's why she'd hesitated to do so.

"I honestly think you know the answer to all these questions yourself, but you'd just rather not acknowledge them for what they are. The Thalmor justicares can name those they find around a Talos worshipper guilty by association. Considering the Thalmor are an extremist body of the Aldmeri Dominion who believe the races of man to be a blight upon the face of Nirn they jump at the opportunity to thin our numbers."

"But why would the Imperial legion lie to me about it?" Morihatha growled unable to believe what the woman was insinuating.

Quintessence shot the woman a look of warning not exactly fond of the tone she was taking. "I understand you don't like where I'm going with this, but do try to remember who exactly I am Empress." If the look of warning wasn't clear enough then surely the statement was.

Lydia saw her Thanes eyes flood red at the rims only momentarily, but the message was so clear it made her shiver slightly. They were free to speak their minds and challenge the woman's opinion, but doing it in a certain way might result in some kind of punishment, whatever kind it might be Lydia had no interest in finding out.

Morihatha looked surprised for a moment before her expression became a bit remorseful and she sheepishly looked away from the woman towards the road they were traveling down.

"Apologies..my lady. I was jus-"

"It's alright." Quintessence interrupted in no need of hearing an apology. "Be your own person, but just remember, you are pretty much my servant."

Morihatha nodded and the group of three continued on their journey back towards Whiterun in silence. Morihatha was growing a bit restless as her lady had yet to finish enlightening her on how and why she thought the deaths of her parents were the Thalmors doing. She didn't know if asking for the woman to continue after she stopped would be stepping out of place so she didn't.

They could see the fires of the torches and Brazzers in the cloud district from where they stood on the Western road, but the walls of the city were still invisible to Lydia from this distance, covered by a shroud of darkness the torch in her hand did nothing to cut through while they were still aways away from the city.

She wondered just how good the two could see in the dark. Every once in a while the two would break away from the group with no prior warning to harvest a couple of mountain flowers they saw growing on the side of the road. The Western watchtower was coming into her view, that walls not just the brazers, so getting to Whiterun would only take them about thirty more minutes of walking from where they were.

Quintessence voice cut through the silence like a dagger causing Lydia to jump slightly having expected the silence to continue until they reached the city.

"What?" Morihatha asked unsure of if she'd heard her right.

"I said I apologise for making you feel uncomfortable, but I'll offer no remorse for speaking my mind about the situation considering I don't feel any."

The Imperial's eyes widened at the woman's words. She'd never expected the Breton to be the type for apologies for anything. She was obviously attempting to reassure her that it was okay for her to speak her mind. Morihatha found herself grateful that the woman actually cared enough to reassure her about anything. She was flattered considering she truly was just a servant and there was no need for the woman to apologise for anything she did.

"Thank you my lady." The Imperial remarked after a moment, once she got past her initial surprise.

Quintessence didn't say anything. She just continued walking slightly ahead of them, but Morihatha didn't let that stop her from smiling anyway. Who was this woman? She could be shockingly cold and uncaring one moment, excitable and cruel the next, or empathetic and compassionate at other times. Quintessence Elder Scroll must have been one of Tamriel's greatest mysteries she thought. The woman was an unreadable puzzle in her own right. Morihatha wished she knew more about her past.

"Generally the Thalmor are supposed to determine a person's guilt before carrying out any sort of punishment, but I doubt they actually give people a fair trail considering anyone who isn't an Altmer is deserving of less consideration than they might show a candlight spell or an Atronach, possibly even less." She sounded out of nowhere surprising the two when she picked up on the conversation they'd dropped at least fifteen minutes ago.

"You did want me to continue right?" The Breton asked looking towards the Imperial who was quick to nod her head even though a part of her was telling her not to.

"Well then, about the Thalmor...they don't treat us with half the respect they might show towards a thorough breed steed from the Isles of Summerset. We're comparable to dirt to those high elven bastards. A judge who looks at the defendant as something subhuman can never be expected to actually afford the defendant a fair trail. And that's what's happening all across the remaining Imperial provinces right now. The Thalmor are finding one Talos worshipper among groups of men and women, and slaughtering them all for the crime of one."

"But that's-

Morihatha's feet came to a stop as the bretons words gave rise to fresh memories she'd have rather forgotten by now.

 **FLASHBLACK**

"Silence you filthy heretic! I would hear none of your excuses!" A towering figure with golden skin and bright amber colored eyes shouted above the sound of a young and fearful Morihatha's cries.

"You and your family have been found guilty of the crime of Talos worship! The least you can do is repent for your crimes before facing punishment." The man sneered at her grandfather who was pleading with the Altmer man in dark robes for mercy.

"But I denounced all Talos worship years ago. Me and my family hav-"

Whatever he'd been about to say was cut short as the justicare standing above him raised a hand and sent a powerful stream of lightning into the elderly man causing his body to quake and twist about in pain as it attempted to dispell the deadly foreign energies.

Her grandfather began screaming and thrashing about on the floor as her and her grandmother could only watch in horror as the man who'd always exercised the utmost faith and loyalty towards the empire was shocked to death for having an old amulet of Talos inside his closet. An amulet in which he hadn't worn in years. He'd simply kept it because it belonged to his mother, but the justicare hardly, or just didn't care at all.

He continued shooting sparks into her grandfather until all his quaking along with his cries of agony ceased, and all that remained was an empty and slightly chared husk that lay completely still on the floor.

Morihatha could smell the chared flesh, and although it was deftly silent in the small cabin they lived in her grandfathers screams were still fresh inside her mind. She didn't think she'd ever be able to forget them.

The justicare turned away from the corpse towards her and her grandmother and the woman thrust her behind her back telling her to make her way into the room a short distance away. Morihatha didn't want to abandon her grandmother but she was scared for her life and she knew she should listen so she made her way to the room a few feet away and pulled the door closed while leaving it open enough to see outside.

She saw her grandmother look to the three Altmer inside the cabin defiantly regardless of the fear she was obviously experiencing.

"My husband never did anything wrong! He-"

Her grandmothers words died in her throat as a bolt of lightning slammed into her too, knocking her off her feet and onto the floor just in front of the room she'd slipped inside a moment ago.

"He was a heretic, and so he died a heretics death." The Justicare said coming to stand above her grandmother and holding a spark filled hand out menacingly.

"Wait!" She cried knowing once they were done with her her granddaughter would be next.

"I'll do anything you ask of me! Just please let my granddaughter live. Please leave her out of this!" She begged only for the Altmer who was in charge to look at her with disgust.

"As if a superior genetic specimen such as myself would ever even THINK to consort with a creature as low as yourself!" The mer spat as if the very idea were the most offensive thing he'd ever before heard. "Heretics and their children are unworthy of mercy, but since it means so much to you the girl will be put to the sword rather than face the same death as you and your husband."

Her grandmother went to say something, but like with her grandfather the powerful shower of sparks slamming into her body cut her words short, and the only sounds to escape her lips in the moments before her death would be cries of agony and a plea for Morihatha to run and get away as fast as she could.

 **PRESENT**

"My parents were Talos worshippers." Morihatha whispered to herself unaware of the stares she was receiving from her companions who'd stopped walking alongside her.

"Empress?"

The woman snapped back to reality and looked up readopting her usual demeanor.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Quintessence offered knowing her words must have brought up a painful memory of some kind.

"No." She replied immediately before her feet began moving again and she walked pass the two.

"Far enough." The breton remarked before her and Lydia moved to follow.

As they continued walking towards the city Lydia asked Quintessence a few questions about herself but much to her annoyance the woman didn't really seem all that comfortable talking about her past.

She was born a vampire to a vampire father and a human mother, but her mother died shortly after giving birth. She was raised by her father who was apparently still alive and had told her to make her way to Skyrim for whatever reason.

Other than giving a few more small details on how she'd been taught Alchemy and various other crafts she gave no more information. Lydia wondered why she seemed so secretive about her past, but she didn't press the issue as it'd be disrespectful to the woman's position as her Thane.

Ignoring how much it ticked her off that the woman forced her to reveal her past while not bothering to share any of hers she engaged the woman in a conversation about books. To their mutual pleasure and surprise they both were huge book readers.

"So what's your favorite book?" Quintessence questioned looking at Morihatha's back and wondering why she still seemed worked up.

"Biography of Barenziah, by the Imperial scribe Stern Gambage."

Quintessa's eyes widened exponentially expecting to hear any answer other than that.

"Why that book out of all others?" She questioned.

Lydia thought it over for a moment before finding her answer.

"Because it's a book that not only pertains to the history of the Empire and the province of Morrowind, but it's also something of a tale of romance, betrayal, tragedy, and hardship. My favorite part about the story though is that regardless of everything Barenziah had to go through she still found a happy ending because of her own perseverance." Lydia said looking as if she was just speaking about the book and it's main character rather than speaking to Quintessence at this point.

"She might have had people who were willing to help her here and there, but for the most part she only got her happy ending because of her own inner strength. She never gave up even when others would have, and she never lost hope in the Empire that she knew. She might have been a Dunmer, but she was a true Lady of the Empire through and through."

Quintessence nodded her head agreeing wholy with that statement. Biography of Barenziah was one of her favorite books as well, and under appreciated among most literally mind's in her opinion.

"Have you ever read The Real Barenziah?" She questioned wondering just how far Lydia's knowledge of the tragic yet inspirational story of the woman's life had been.

"The Real Barenziah?" Lydia questioned with a look of great interest.

The breton nodded wishing she hadn't had her belongings confiscated upon being discovered crossing the border. She'd had a copy of each book from each Barenziah series and she'd have loved to lend them to her housecarl so they could later discuss them when she finished.

"It's quite the tale." She grinned recalling the first time she'd read The Real Barenziah, volume one. "I won't ruin anything in it for you, but I'll just say that this collection paints an entirely different picture of Barenziah and her life than what the other books do."

"Oh?" Lydia chirped. "Can you give me an example of how without giving anything away?"

"I don't know..that might be difficult." The breton replied with a thoughtful look as she began contemplating how exactly to give an example without telling any of the story.

"Let's just say that The Real Barenziah will challenge everything you think you know about our Dunmer lady, her first husband, and her family."

Lydia only grew more curious at her declaration, but she didn't question it any further knowing that the woman had said all that she could say without revealing anything.

"Are there any other books you could say you hold a similar fondness for my Thane."

"16 Accords of madness." The woman said with a grin that made Lydia question what the book was about.

"To summarize it, it's about a little wager Sheogorath had with Hircine."

"The Deadric prince of madness, and the prince of the hunt?" Lydia questioned wondering what kind of bet they'd have with each other.

"Indeed. Basically the two have a little wager that ends in a song bird created by Sheogorath besting the beast Hircine created just for the occasion of besting the prince of madness. Hircine spews a thousand curses and withdraws to his hunting grounds, and Sheogorath crowns his birdie champion and whistles a little tune."

Lydia snickered a bit thinking that Sheogorath sounded like that one sibling who purposely annoyed the hell out of all his other siblings.

"Why would you call this one of your favorite books though?" She inquired knowing it wasn't simply because the story sounded somewhat amusing.

"Because it's the perfect example of how one always underestimates the madness in things, and how the smallest things can also be the deadliest. Hircine created an entirely new type of beast while all Sheogorath did was have a song bird he created annoy the deadra to the point it tore itself apart trying to kill the song bird. I love Sheogorath, he's one of my favorite princess."

"Y-you're a deadra worshipper!?" Lydia stammered wondering if she should run away at her first opportunity. Vampires we're one thing but deadra worshippers were another.

"No...unless you count praying to Azura to be deadra worship. If that's the case then yes."

Lydia looked at the woman in bewilderment. How could she just casually say such a thing?

"You aren't afraid of Azura claiming your soul when you die?"

Quintessence didn't answer the question. She simply turned to Lydia with a questioning gaze till Lydia flushed slightly and remembered with much embarrassment that vampires didn't die.

"Sorry..I might have forgotten that you were imortal."

Quintessence grinned and turned her eyes back towards the road finding it funny she could forget such a thing.

"I guess I should be afraid of that considering I can't die, but I can be killed. Really though I think any of the other deadra would be a better option than the one who currently has a claim over my soul. Azura's realm was described as a place of unimaginable beauty and serenity so I don't think going there would be so bad."

"Oh." Lydia said feeling herself grow more curious. "So what's it like to worship a deadra? Do they ever talk to you or make you do things?"

"I don't think it's much different from worshipping a divine in all honesty. I pray and hope that my prayers will be heard. I've never heard Azura's voice or gotten any kind of direct feedback, but occasionally I'll be graced with a vision of something I won't come to understand until later. I wouldn't know what it's like to worship another deadra because I never have." Quintessence finished pulling an amulet made up of a half Moon and a sun from inside her robes.

"It's Kynereath first, Azura, and then Arkay."

"Is that an amulet of Azura?" Lydia said in a mystified voice as she observed the beautifully crafted silver and golden amulet.

"My father made it for me years ago and I keep it with me as a reminder of who I am."

Lydia looked at her curiously and raised a brow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You might find out one day." Quintessence replied before moving the amulet back inside of her robes, right next to the amulet of Kynereath and the amulet of Arkay.

Lydia didn't bother acknowledging or replying to the cryptic answer knowing the woman seemed to be very secretive about certain things.

"So what other books do you like?" Lydia questioned causing the two to fall into a conversation concerning books they had or would like to read.

Morihatha was silent as she walked in front of them, paying no mind to their conversation but wondering about what Quintessence said earlier. When she thought about it, the only thing foolish or confident enough to attack a full Imperial convoy would have to be the Thalmor. It made sense that they'd take the opportunity to wipe out the entire carvan, and claim Talos worship had been the reason.

Really that was the least of their reason for being in both Skyrim, Cyrodil, and Highrock.

While the Dominion found it offensive they hardly cared who the races of men decided to worship. Rooting out Talos worship was an excuse to distribute their agents across the Empires territories and inside it's major cities. The Justicares and their Inquisitor squads were put in place to serve as spies and objects of demoralization for Imperial citizens.

They were distributing their agents within Imperial territories to weaken and spy on the Empire.

With a strong Aldmeri presence within every city that mattered the Empire was hard pressed to refill it's ranks in preparation for the next war which no one doubted would come.

The Aldmeri Dominion was free to rebuild their own armies with impunity while the Empire had to rebuild under the watchful eyes of Justicares who claimed to only be sticking around to make sure they held up their own end of the deal.

She didn't doubt that upon finding out her parents, or any other Imperial soldier in their carvan worshiped Talos the Thalmor jumped at the opportunity to wipe out the entire party.

Most Imperial soldiers within the army still worshipped Talos. That was no secret, and hardly enough reason to destroy an entire carvan. It only served as an excuse for the Altmer to ensure they got off scott free, and of course the Empire would cover up the incident. News spreading of an Imperial carvan being wiped out by Thalmor would cause unrest and a reasonable amount of outrage.

When she thought about it more Morihatha was a bit surprised to find she had no resentment towards the Thalmor for killing her parents. Instead she found the target of such feelings were the Empire who'd lied to her about her parents deaths and basically allowed it to happen. She wondered how often incidents like this occurred.

Occasionally Imperial soldiers would vanish while patrolling certain regions. That was likely the Thalmors doing she decided. They were effectively weakening the Empire from within and the worst part was the Empire in it's weakened state was actually allowing it to occur.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Once again upon stepping inside the city Quintessence was given the impression that it was warmer inside the walls of Whiterun than it was on the chilly plains outside it.

The three came to the Market place and continued moving towards The Bannered Mare when the Breton stopped them and handed Morihatha her bag. The Imperial woman looked at her lady questioningly before she remarked that she was about to make her way to the temple of Kynereath and she'd meet back up with them later.

The two both nodded their heads, and Lydia continued inside the inn while Morihatha stood and looked at her with indecision for a moment.

Quintessence raised an eyebrow at the Imperial woman's odd behavior. She usually didn't question or second guess things, or was this something else?

"Do you really think the Thalmor killed my parents?" She asked after a moment of silence had passed between the two.

Quintessence nodded her head a bit surprised that what she'd said before they even passed the Western watchtower was still on the woman's mind.

"I'm almost certain about it. Just as certain as one can be about something without having actual proof of it."

Morihatha nodded and gazed towards the ground in thought. Quintessence would have been furious in her place, but as she observed her she realized that the woman just looked sad.

Morihatha wanted to ask why but she already knew why they'd done it so she asked another question instead.

"Why would the Empire allow the Thalmor to do such a thing?"

Quintessence snorted.

"Why would the Empire turn their back on the man/God literally responsible for it's inception. They don't really have any choice in the matter."

Morihatha's fist balled at her side and she adopted one of those furious looks Quintessence hadn't seen since she graced the woman with the blessing/curse of vampirism.

"The only time when one loses the option of having a choice is when one gives up! The Empire can't define it's own fate by subjecting itself to the whims of others."

Quintessence chuckled a bit and couldn't help but develop a smirk seeing where she was coming from, but also seeing she seemed to be either missing or ignoring a very important piece of the puzzle.

"If the Empire didn't sign that treaty there would be no Empire right now. Sign it or die was the only choice available to the Empire, and fighting wouldn't have provided us with any other options."

Morihatha's frown didn't go away or grow at that statement, it just became a thoughtful, less furious one.

"Then we should have died fighting. Now the Thalmor are free to do whatever they want on Imperial soil, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. The Empire has become a downright shameful and pathetic sight to behold if this is how things are done now! Just ignore the problem and hope it doesn't kill us all eventually!" Morihatha practically shouted drawing the attention of two shady fellows who were standing a short distance away bartering about something.

If Quintessence was to guess at what judging by the hushed voices, and subtle sugary scent on the air she'd say it was skooma, moon sugar, or something of the like.

"Do you hate the Thalmor?" She asked small grin still in place.

"No." Morihatha replied instantly without giving it a moments consideration. "But I am starting to hate the Empire."

Quintessa's grin grew as she gestured outward with her hands.

"We'll join the club then Empress. I wouldn't be surprised if half of Skyrim hates the Empire these days. I'm sure more half of Hammerfell surely does."

Morihatha looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and opened her mouth to ask another question, but the woman cut her off knowing what was to come next.

"No I don't hate the Empire. It just disgust me at the moment, but enough of that. I think you need to unwind. Maybe get you and Lydia a round of drinks or something and let her buy whatever she wants. I'll be back within the next hour."

Morihatha nodded and turned to walk inside the Inn while Quintessence turned to walk away, sparing one last glance at the shady pair who's voices had rose exponentially but were still hushed enough to be called whispers.

Despite herself she moved towards the side of the Alchemy shop next to the Inn and stood inside the shadows cast by the brazzers light erasing herself from view but placing herself within better earshot of the pair. She knew that as Thane of the city she should have both of them arrested right now for pedaling illegal goods, but she had no proof as of yet, just a suspension.

As she listened to the two go back and forth for the next two minutes it became apparent the dealer was attempting to pedal the goods off at an unreasonable price and the man who was attempting to purchase them was upset and questioning where the usual dealer was.

"He isn't coming so you might as well get used to dealing with me from now on." The dealer, obviously a woman bite sounding as if she was getting rather feed up with the man's reluctance to play ball.

"I don't see why the guild always has to stick their greedy hands into other people's business. Aren't you lot dying off anyway?"

Quintessence couldn't see the woman's face under the hood she wore, but she imagined she was scowling at the man she wa-. Wait...was that Belathar attempting to purchase illegal narcotics?

"Look!" The woman said reaching her breaking point. "You either buy or you don't. I'm not getting paid to answer your questions so if you want I can just take my business elsewhere."

"Alright alright! I'll buy! Do you have a sample from the newest shipment ready for me?"

The woman pulled a small vail filled with a thick looking purple liquid out of a hidden compartment in the strange leather armor she wore and Belathar quickly snatched it away and began grinning like a mad man.

 _"So that's why his prices are so high."_ Quintessence realized. _"The man's a Skooma addict... I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he'd sell his sister if he had one."_ She thought amused.

The woman's lips curled in disgust as the man held the bottle of Skooma as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

"The next shipment will arrive a week from now inside a shipment of cheap rugs no one will bother checking. I'll be back for my payment in two weeks. I shouldn't need to tell you what might happen should you fail to pay us?"

"Of course! I'll make good on my payment! Even if your prices are just about as shifty as you are." The man remarked with some bite to his voice.

The woman was silent for a moment before she spoke with what Quintessence was sure had to be something of a smile in her voice.

"Good. Then our business is settled for the moment." She said turning to walk away in the direction towards the city gate.

Belathar turned back towards his shop and swiftly moved across the market place, slamming the door behind himself likely about to spend the rest of the night on a Skooma trip.

Quintessence looked after the woman walking towards the gate and decided she might as well have a bit of fun with this situation. Her initial thought had been to arrest the both of them once she found proof pertaining to the selling of illegal goods, but they'd both said something that interested her too much to do so.

'Guild' and 'us' had stuck out among all the other things they said because it suggested the woman was a part of an organization, and there was only one guild she could think of that fit into the shady business dealings line of work besides the mages guild. The thieves guild.

That woman was a member and she'd likely had Belathar's former client, or dealer arrested so she could take his place.

Quintessence found herself somewhat interested to see what kind of person this woman, or this thief was. The only reason she hadn't arrested them was because she planned on intercepting Belathar's Skooma shipment next week and using it to blackmail the man. She didn't know when it'd come, but she figured she could easily find out.

She trailed the woman from a respectable distance, waiting until she was outside the city and standing in the stables next to a horse.

"So you deal Skooma and you're from the thieves guild?" Quintessence questioned causing the woman to whirl around and fix her with a glare.

"And you're a dead woman if you say anything." She threatened taking in the appearance of the woman who'd been following her.

Dark hair, dark robes, red lips, and errie golden eyes that seemed to glow under the moonlight.

"You're far from the first person who's ever threatened my life."

The woman snorted in reply.

"So you've seen me conducting illegal business? I'm a thief. You really think I care about what you saw?"

Quintessa's grin grew as she raised her hands summoning fire to her finger tips. Her eyes flooded red and she looked at the woman with an excitement that hadn't been there moments ago.

"I think you'd really care if I were to roast your ass within an inch of your life and drag you to the prison up at dragonsreach."

Tanila felt herself grow a bit nervous as the woman in front of her suddenly went from some annoying ass do gooder to a mysterious figure she had to be wary of. She didn't know who this woman was but it now seemed obvious she was dangerous if the fire and the crimson eyes were any sort of indication.

Tanila had been a bandit before joining up with the thieves guild and she definitely knew how to swing a sword, but this woman was giving off the aura of someone who battled often and relished it.

"What the hell do you want?" She demanded knowing that the woman would have turned her in or attacked her already if that was her intention.

"Nothing really." She said before dropping her hands and letting her flames fade as her eyes readopted their usual color.

Tanila looked a bit skeptical but choose not to reply. The sooner she got away from the woman and the city of Whiterun the better. She pulled the horse she'd rented from the riften stables outside of it's pen and pulled herself up into the saddle.

"I thought it was dangerous to travel at night?" The woman remarked in an amused voice.

"I thought it was dangerous minding other people's business." Tanila quickly bite back.

"Touche." The woman said as her grin widened again.

The fence prepared to lead her horse outside of the stables ready to begin the long journey to Riften when a voice stopped her.

"What did you say?" She questioned turning back towards the woman.

"I said you owe me." She said plainly causing Tanila to pause and stare at the woman in disbelief. She felt her anger grow as the woman smiled at her evenly as if she truly believed her own words. Just who did she think she was?

"Look here girly. I don't owe anyone a got damned thing if I don't agree to actually owing them. You can threaten to roast my ass all you want but I'm not scared of you, and I never will be. The only thing I do owe you is an ass kicking for those words streaming from your mouth."

"Maybe I'll just make your life into a living hell one day then?" Quintessence offered to which the woman only scoffed.

"Good luck with that. My has been a living hell long before you showed up. A little more fire couldn't hurt too much." She replied before snapping at the riens of her horse and taking off down the road in a gallop.

Quintessence watched until she could no longer see her and she remarked to herself that she'd be seeing the woman again someday.

She wouldn't allow the thief to forget that she owed her for not arresting her ass when she could've done so easily, and within reason. It wasn't a personal favor she was after though, it was more like having a member of the thieves guild owe her a favor. By extension the guild would owe up as far as she was concerned.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The plains district of Whiterun was always pretty silent during the hours of night and the wind district was no different. Not a citizen walked the streets this late at night, but not due to a sense of some unforeseen danger. The guards patrolling the streets within ear shot of each other ensured the city had some sense of security, but the streets were empty only because there was no business to conduct at this hour, and unlike her and her hand maddien the majority of Whiteruns citizens likely required sleep.

As she reached the top of one of two sets of stairs separating the plains district from the wind district she noticed a Redguard man wearing studded armor arguing with another Redguard, but this one a woman wearing an affordable blue dress in the style most common folk had to dress in as they could hardly afford better.

Quintessence didn't know why she stopped to listen to the two but she did, easily slipping into a shadow by the small canal fed by the waterway up at dragonsreach that was feed by a mountain spring she figured some Jarl of Whiterun had tapped into long ago. The two spent the next five minutes bickering with one another till the woman told the man that if he so much as stepped foot outside of the city he could forget about coming home to her and their daughter.

Quintessence had to wince and stiffle a laugh at that one. The man smelled like physical labor while the woman smelled like the inside of a house. It was obvious who the bread winner out of the family was yet she still had the stones to threaten him. She wondered just how she'd leave him if he was the one keeping the roof over their heads.

She was likely having an affair with someone who lived inside the city and made her comfortable enough to threaten the man in such a manner. Her husband likely knew about the affair but made no move to separate himself from his wife as she'd likely take their daughter away and never allow him to see her. Either way it was obvious the two had no love for one another if the fiery looks full of hatred and scorn they were currently affording each other were anything to go off of.

She wondered who the woman's lover happened to be and the only person she could come up with was Nazeem. No doubt he'd managed to impress the woman with his act and she likely thought he had the means to support her and her daughter should she ever decide to leave her husband. Oh but how wrong she was!

Quintessence had the life of these two figured out easily. Husband who gives more attention to work and his fantasy of being an adventure than he does his family. Wife who feels neglected finds escape in romance novels, and then later the man who came along showering her with all the attention she didn't receive from her husband. Husband finds out about wife's affair but says nothing realizing he was the cause and there isn't anything he can do to change things now besides leave her which he can't do because he isn't really fit to raise his daughter on his own and if he left the girl with his wife he'd likely hardly ever see her if ever.

Wife finds out that husband knows but doesn't care. She continues to do what makes her happy and blames it on her husband anyway. Husband still too wrapped up in his work and fantasies of a better life to attempt to make a change. The two were likely the closest of lovers when they left their homeland for Skyrim, but time changes people of course.

Quintessence felt bad for their daughter. Both the parents were so wrapped up inside their own world that the girl was likely neglected. They'd both only see her as a reminder of the lover they no longer wished to be with, and a mistake that they should have never made.

The man stormed off ignoring the voice of his wife demanding to know where he was going. Quintessence figured he was heading towards the Bannered Mare to consort with one of the loose women who liked to hang around Hulda and earn their coin from the travelers and married men seeking the comfort only a woman could provide.

The woman stormed back inside her house and emerged not even ten seconds later with a small hand bag on her person before storming away in the direction of the drunken huntsman.

 _"Nazeem, just like I thought. Living so long must have made me into a sage or something. That was too easy."_ She thought plotting her next move.

She originally came to the wind district with the intention of visiting the temple of Kynereath but right in front of her was a house with only a sleeping child inside.

A certain sort of low life would take this opportunity to rob the poor struggling family blind.

Quintessence didn't consider herself a low life, but there was no question that at times she could get pretty low. Her grin became an evil one as she pulled a single lock pick from her robe and began stealthily making her way towards the house's front door.

She was in in moments, closing it silently behind herself and looking around. It was a small but nice looking house. The first floor was large spacious area with a fire place in the center that had a cooking pot hanging from a spittle in front of it. There was an area to the left of the room and under the steps with a wooden table where one could prepare food and where the family could sit down to eat, with a wooden barrel and a number of sacks used to store foods.

The area to the far right was no doubt a sleeping area with a bed big enough to fit two, a small dresser to the left of it, and a larger one to the right.

She moved towards the cupboard to the immediate right and found only a caste Iron pot, a wooden plate, a first aid kit, and some black robes. She pushed the drawer closed and ignored the wooden barrel beside it knowing she'd likely only find food inside it.

She made her way towards the larger dresser in the sleeping area and opened it up finding only a pair of fine boots and regular boots. She closed it and began wondering if the family was less well off than she'd thought originally, which was crazy because they lived in the wind district rather than the plains district. Even bandits left gold laying around in their little hideouts though, and they didn't even trust each other.

She moved towards the smaller dresser recognizing it as her last chance to find some gold in here when the sound of sobbing reached her overly sensitive ears causing her to pause just as her hand reached out.

 _"And that would be the neglected daughter."_ She thought pulling open the dresser anyway and smiling when she saw ten gold laying underneath a wooden plate. _"Now what kind of person would I be if I robbed this poor little family out of the measly ten Septums they managed to save."_

Grinning she scooped up the septums and closed the drawer silently after depositing the gold inside her coin purse. She saw a book atop the dresser and picked it up looking at the cover curiously. It's name was 'Nords Arise!' and she couldn't recall reading this one before, so she figured it must have been fairly recent.

She wouldn't steal it though no matter how much she wanted to read it. She could kill people unnecessarily and steal the gold they needed to support themselves any day, but stealing someone's literature was a line she wouldn't cross in most situations so she sat the book down and moved back towards the door stopping when the sobs coming from the little girl upstairs made her question her actions.

She sighed and turned around questioning what she was doing but making no move to stop herself as she walked up the steps and pausing to look at the girl who lay in her bed facing the wall as her body shook with each sob that escaped her. Quintessence felt bad for the girl but she felt annoyed as well. Crying was doing her no good, getting angry with her parents would have likely served her better.

"You know kid..if you cry yourself to sleep at night because your parents aren't getting along, and their too blind to see it they don't deserve your tears." She said sitting down on the bed and shocking the girl who looked up to behold a face she'd never before seen in her house.

She backed away placing herself in the corner against the wall as she gazed fearfully at the wall wary of the stranger who obviously didn't know her parents judging by her words and her having never seen her before.

"W-Who are you? W-Why are you here?" She stammered wondering if she'd be heard if she was to call for help.

Quintessence observed the girl for a moment before giving her a warm smile and gesturing toward herself and smiling widely. "I'm your fairy Godmother!"

To her satisfaction the girls eyes immediately filled with wonder and she relaxed a bit seemingly forgetting all about the fear she'd felt moments ago.

"You are? That means you can grant my wishes right!?" She said moving closer to Quintessence and practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

Quintessence chuckled and placed her hands on the girls shoulders gently coaxing her into calming down.

"Well that's my job, but I can't grant every wish, and it takes some time for your wishes to actually come true. Just tell me what it is you want the most and I'll see what I can do."

The girls eyes widened and she quickly complied with the woman stating that she wished her mother and father would stop fighting and pay her more attention.

"That's two wishes dear. Which one do you want the most?" Quintessence questioned knowing she wasn't a miracle worker.

"I-I..." The girl looked indecisive for a moment before making up her mind and looking at Quintessence with what was clearly confidence in the decision she'd picked. "I just want for mama and papa to pay me more attention. Sometimes I think that they hate me."

Quintessence felt her heart ache for the little girl when she made her last statement. Her parents likely didn't hate her, but they hated the fact that they made her as she was likely the only thing actually keeping them together. The Breton momentarily wondered how she could go about granting the girls wish.

If it'd been the simple one she was hoping for of having the two stop fighting she could have just killed them both and problem solved, but having them pay her more attention. She didn't know how she could accomplish that without serious threats of physical violence, and she didn't want the two to be scared of what the girl could have done to them.

She had a few ideas to work with so she nodded her head deciding she'd make one of them work for her little God child's sake. She chuckled at the thought.

"Okay then child, I shall grant both your wishes, but only under one condition."

"What?" The girl asked ready to agree to anything if the woman could really do what she said.

"You don't tell anyone about me since fairy godmother's are a secret and you put this coin into the dresser by your parents bed for me, underneath the wooden plate." She said reluctantly handing the girl back the gold she'd taken.

She didn't want the two coming home later yelling about thieves because then her cover would be blown. She couldn't hurt this child anymore than she was already hurting inside. Those brown eyes of hers held so much sadness Quintessence had momentarily considered a mercy killing for the child before coming up with the whole fairy godmother ruse.

"Okay!" She bellowed not even bothering to question why the woman wanted her to place ten gold inside her mother's dresser. "How long will it take for the wish to work."

"It shouldn't take too long so don't worry about it. Anyway what's your name Goddaughter?"

"It's Briath!" The girl remarked looking like a kid who'd just gotten the best birthday present ever.

"Well mine is Quintessence Septimus and should you ever need me write a letter addressed to me and give it to a courier. Let them know that they will be paid handsomely upon the letters delivery, and be sure not to let your parents find out."

"But won't you just know if I need you somehow?" Briath asked confused.

Quintessence shook her head no to the girls question. "I'm a very busy woman and I can't always know when you need me, so just remember what I said okay?"

"Okay." Briath said nodding her compliance.

Quintessence stood to leave but Briath stopped her by standing and hugging her around her waist.

"Don't go..please?" She begged surprising the Breton.

"But if I don't go I won't be able to grant your wish." She replied knowing she had ample time until either of the girls parents returning, but she still had things to do.

"I know.. it's just.." The girl didn't bother finishing her sentence. She let go of the Bretons waist and sat back down on looking as saddened dejected as Quintessence had ever recalled seeing a person.

Feeling more pity than she was comfortable with she sat down and put an arm around the girls shoulder surprising her with the action.

"You don't like being alone do you?" She questioned already knowing the answer.

"No." She said sniffling and wiping at a tears that'd been forming within her left eyes. "I don't think anyone does."

Quintessence smiled and told the girl she would be surprised before cradling her into a hug and telling her a story about the Empire her father used to tell her when she was little. Sometime during the story Briath had fallen asleep and Quintessence stopped her tale wondering just how she'd done so without laying down. The girl was truly lonely and just wanted to feel like she was important, or like she mattered to someone.

Quintessence couldn't really relate but she could understand. She carefully moved the girl away from her and laid her down, tucking her in and wondering if she'd just think this all a dream when she woke up.

She took the ten Septums from the dresser and moved down stairs placing them back inside the dresser she'd taken them from, wishing the child sweet dreams and casting and invisibility spell to ensure she wasn't seen as she left the house.

As she began walking towards the temple of Kynereath she wondered about the affair her new 'god childs' mother was having with Nazeem, or whoever it was she'd went to go see within the drunken huntsman.

It made her wonder about Balgruuf and the Dunmer housecarl he'd looked at a bit too tenderly considering the relationship between the two was supposed to be strictly professional and nothing more. Whiterun was definitely an interesting city considering she hardly knew anyone here and already she was privy to a few secrets she should in no way be privy to.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Lydia sat at the bar talking to Hulda about her new position as housecarl for the new Thane of Whiterun rather than the whole of Whiterun court. Morihatha gave the woman the coin purse Quintessence had given her and left her to do what she liked with it.

Lydia had thought about following after the Imperial and attempting to cheer her up, but she hardly knew her, and she wasn't the best brick in the building when it came to social situations anyway. So she sat in the main room talking to her good friend Hulda who'd always tried to look out for her in the days when she had no choice but to sleep on the side of the inn.

She didn't notice when Quintessence walked inside the inn and sat down inside one of the chairs in the far corner, watching an obviously drunken Amren talking to one of the woman who's company could be brought with the right amount of coin. She didn't feel like waiting for the man to get his rocks off to speak so she discreetly lifted her hand and pulled his coin purse towards herself, stashing it inside her robes and looking around the room to ensure no one had seen her.

Around two minutes later the man began fumbling at his side before muttering a curse and telling the woman he'd be right back once he retrieved his coin purse. Quintessence allowed a small smile to grace her features as the man left the Inn to head home in search of the coin purse he now thought he forgot.

Maybe if the man wasn't so drunk he would have realized he'd paid for enough alcohol to get him into this state, but that was good for her anyway. She waited around a minute after he left and followed knowing he wouldn't be walking particularly as fast as he was.

She caught up with him just as he was passing a short opening between two House's and she moved quickly pushing him into the shadows and out the sight of the guards that were soon to pass the part of the street on their nightly patrol.

Amren went to speak but the cold kiss of steel against his throat silenced him immediately. He couldn't see the face of his assailant as it was covered in some kind of dark coil, but the burning crimson eyes staring into his soul caused the man to sober up instantly.

"Please! I don't have any money on me but I-"

"Shut up." The voice hissed applying more pressure to the dagger at his throat. "It has come to the attention of me and my colleagues that you have a daughter who doesn't see much attention."

Amren's eyes widened at the mention of Briath. What exactly did she have to do with what was happening at the moment?

"I-"

"Didn't I say shut up?" The figure questioned pressing the dagger enough to break skin and draw a small amount of blood, but not enough to kill.

"You see me and my colleagues fill the ranks of our organization with orphans usually, but we aren't above kidnapping children who aren't proper supervised or paid attention to as well." Quintessence said purposely not bothering to she'd light on what organization she was referring to. "I'd hate to see such a young girl join an organization as dark as ours so I'm giving you a warning, you and your wife. Keep the girl in your sights. Make sure she's happy and receives all the love she needs or she'll wind up becoming one of our new initiates."

The Breton leaned towards the man's ear so she could whisper directly into it.

"Do you know what happens when we kidnap a child and make them into a new member of our guild?"

The man shook his head unwilling to speak for fear of driving the knife any deeper.

"Well.." She whispered the gleam in her eyes and the smile in her voice serving to unnerve the man alongside the knife that was just a quarter inch away from taking his life. "We kidnap their parents and have them watch as they're tortured until they no longer feel anything from it."

She faked a thoughtful look needing the man to believe every word without a shadow of a doubt.

"It usually takes two or three months of none stop torture for the kids to stop feeling anything, but eventually hearing their parents scream in agony and seeing them tortured everyday without rest breaks them. See we grab the kids who aren't paid as much love or attention because it's easier to sway them." She said pulling out another dagger and tracing it along the man's skin, feeling real elation at the thought of torturing him caused her blood to rush.

Elation that she purposely let spill into her voice along with the growing excitement now shinning in her eyes.

"As a graduation ceremony we have them torture their parents to death in anyway they want as long as it's slow and painful. This ensure's their unwavering loyalty. You and your wife wouldn't want that for yourselves would you? I'd love have some fun torturing the both of you, but that girl is a year younger than the brats we usually kidnap and I don't want some pansy ass kid getting tears all over my nice blood soaked floor as I torture her shitty parents."

She shushed the man just as she felt his throat shift a bit under her blade as if he was about to make an attempt at speaking.

"So young and strapping. Such a lovely look fear in your eyes! I wonder how you'd scream!" She remarked gleefully with a smile shinning in her overly excited eyes.

She raised her other dagger which was coated in a paralysis posion and stabbed it into his leg, dropping her other dagger and using her other hand to muffle the man's scream. She could have just charmed him, but she wanted him to know she enjoyed inflicting pain.

He grunted into the hand covering his mouth and she swooned at the sound leaning herself forward and licking up the blood from the shallow cut on the man's throat. Picking up the dagger she'd discarded she began tracing a line across the man's face, the paralysis posion already causing his arms and legs to seize up and go stiff much to his horror. She stopped when she reached his left eye and just let the dagger hover there for a moment as if in contemplation on whether or not she should remove it.

"Such a lovely sound you made for such a miniscule amount of pain. I would absolutely love to hear more, but unfortunately the nights end draws near and I should really be on my way. I'll be speaking to your wife before I go. Do remember that me and my associates will be watching."

"P-P-Please..." The man stammered through the paralysis posion much to her surprise. "P-Ple..ase d-d-do... don't hu...hurt m-my wife."

Quintessa's grin became a wicked one but the man couldn't see it anyway. "I'll think about it." She said standing, dropping his coin purse, and leaving the poor guy where he was in the shadows between houses. It was admirable that he cared about his wife so much regardless of the fact she was cheating on him with such a fine gentleman like Nazeem.

The posion would wear off within the next thirty minutes or so. She'd gotten it from a chest inside of the silent moon camp and hadn't really thought she'd had a use for it. Good thing paralysis posion was fast acting otherwise she might have had to wait for it to take effect or she'd have had to use a charm. She had no reason to paralysis the man besides knowing it would add to the fear he felt, and wanting him and his wife to make it home at the same time, but there lied a problem with that plan.

Briath's mother, whatever the hell her name was, was still laid up with that pathetic ass wipe people called Nazeem. She needed to find a way to get her away from her so that the two might have a little chat.

 _"Maybe I'll just set the Inn on fire and catch her somehow when she comes outside?_ " She thought with her signature grin in place.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nazeem was recalling another one of his stories about his time in Hammerfell when a figure dressed entirely in black robes burst into his room and shot him and his guest a chilling glare that almost made him think twice about his next action.

"What is the meaning of thi-"

His sentence was cut short when the robed figure lifted a hand and he felt his throat constricting as he was robbed of the ability to breathe and speak.

 _"Oh divines! Why has no one ever thought of using telekinesis in this way before!?"_ Quintessence thought as she realized she could likely also use the spell to crush the man's wind pipe.

"Stendar! What are you doing!" The woman shouted before calling for help as she saw the Redguard's eyes begin bugging out of his head.

(In case the last sentence confused anyone she's basically saying Stendar like how people are like 'Oh my God! What are you doing!? Stendar is the God of mercy so I think it appropriate she call his name when watching her lover get choked by some invisible force)

Quintessence let the spell fade and Nazeem dropped to the floor coughing and weezing as his lungs greedily devoured the air the Breton was sure he'd never been so grateful for in his entire life.

"If you don't want to see your love interest die I suggest you come with me." She remarked looking to the woman who looked like she wanted to rush to the man's aid.

She looked into the crimson eyes of the coiled woman and wondered why no one had come when she called for help. Quintessence raised a hand in Nazeem's direction and the woman quickly stood begging her to leave the man alone.

Quintessence couldn't help but grin underneath the coil that covered her face. This was turning out to be way easier than she'd thought. She gestured towards the door and the woman gave one last look to Nazeem who opened his mouth to speak looking as if he wanted to speak up against her going more than anything but he couldn't at the moment.

She mouthed a quick 'Im sorry' before following the woman downstairs to find all the Inn's other occupants either hunched over their tables or laid out in some uncomfortable position.

Fear gripped her heart at the thought of the person who was kidnapping her killing all these people. If one person had accomplished such a task she had no hope of escaping or being rescued whatsoever. She thought of Amren and Briath and began to wish she'd been a better mother and wife.

She prayed to each of the nine divines that her husband by some miracle might turn up and save her, but she doubted he'd even care about her enough to do so even if he was aware of the situation. In fact she wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who hired this woman to kill her. She had in fact dedicated herself to making the man's life as hard as possible for the last two years, but she couldn't help it.

Amren had been her first love and she'd thrown away everything to move to Skyrim with the man, and three years after settling down with him in the land of frost he allowed his work to consume him to the point of barely paying her any attention. She'd began having an affair with Nazeem purely out of spite which was actually the reason she did a lot of things these days..spite.

If her husband wouldn't give her with the love she deserved as his wife then she would make him hate her as the bitch she could be. Looking back on it and the situation she was in now she wished more than anything she'd have just tried making him understand her a bit more than he did the few times she'd brought up how she felt.

When she thought about Briath it hurt more to know she'd never really been given the attention she deserved either. At least not after the first three years of her life when her and Nazeem began pulling apart and looking at their own daughter as if she was a mistake they honestly wished they could take back at times.

The woman lead her outside of the city. They walked for a short distance until they were away from the stables and the city wall. The figure turned towards her and she flinched when she meant the coldest pair of eyes she'd ever before meant. The woman's look back in the Inn had been one bordering on both boredom and curiousity. Now it was all business.

"Look...before you kill me I just want to ask a favor." She said missing the brief flash of surprise in the woman's eyes.

Quintessence nodded her head figuring this might be interesting.

"Please tell my husband I'm sorry, and I don't blame him. Regardless of everything I still love him."

Quintessa's eyes widened and she had to try hard to resist the urge to burst into laughter. She grinned behind the coil covering all of her face besides her eyes and doubled over in laughter anyway.

The woman looked at her in confusion and frowned not exactly understanding why her last wish was being laughed at. Surely this assassin couldn't be that cruel could she, but then again she recalled the sight of the occupants of the drunken huntsman and shivered. If this woman killed so many people just to get to her she was possibly that cruel and then some.

"You think your husband hired me to kill you?"

"I- well... Yes.. I can't think of anyone el-"

The woman was silenced as her feet were kicked out from underneath her and she hit the ground hard.

"This isn't about your failing love life bitch! This is about business! I couldn't give half of a skevers ass about you and your family! So take that emotional shit to someone who actually cares!"

Saffir tried to make her way to her feet but was forced back down by a foot pressing hard into her back and ensuring she couldn't move.

A fresh wave of water made it's way to her eyes as she realized her husband would never even know how regretful she was. He would never know that she never loved Nazeem and she never actually planned on leaving him. In their little arguments when she threatened to do so she'd only ever said it out of spite, and as a way to upset him. She still loved the man with all her heart and it hurt to know she'd never get to apologise for the hurt she'd intentionally caused him.

"Have you ever heard of the guild of perpetual darkness?" Quintessence asked coming up with the name off the top of her head.

The woman shook her head no and began sobbing into the ground she lay on causing the Breton to roll her eyes. She didn't even really hurt the bitch and she was already crying.

A part of her felt kind of bad but another part of her was enjoying this thoroughly. She had really wanted to torture Amren, and she wanted to just beat the shit out of his wife. All for kicks..there was no logic behind her desire.

Saying it was because the two were bad parents would just be an excuse because she didn't care about that.

She agreed to grant Briath's wish because she felt bad for the girl. She didn't resent her parents for being shitty at their job though. Nobody was a perfect parent after all.

"Exactly. We make the dark brother hood look like the thieves guild. No one has ever heard of us and we hope to keep it that way. You won't die as long as you don't run your mouth about us."

Saffir's eyes opened and she quickly began to tell the woman she wouldn't utter a single word but she shushed her. Quintessence then proceeded to tell the same story that she'd told Amren wondering what the woman was thinking as she'd finished as she was deathly silent.

"T-Thank you for the warning." Saffir stammered after a moment still afraid of the woman but less afraid than she'd been moments ago now that she knew she wouldn't be murdered.

Quintessence frowned wondering why the woman thought the warning was for her when she tried to make it clear that it wasn't.

"Your husband is dead." She said just to see how the woman would react. "Killed him myself when the fool came at me with a fucking dagger. Guy must have had a death wish or something."

The woman beneath her feet went deathly silent and still causing Quintessence wonder if she'd broken her before the woman suddenly pushed herself up causing her to stumble and fall as her foot was lifted right off of her captives back. The Redguard picked the nearest rock and charged Quintessence with a shrill yell that held all the anger and sadness in the world.

The Breton began laughing evily at the woman's obvious despair as she continued to roll out of the way of her wild and desperate strikes. She rolled to her feet and hit the woman with a weak paralysis spell, catching her before her body could fall and hit the ground.

"I lied you know. He isn't dead, he'll likely just wake up with an uncomfortable crease in his neck. Oh and he might just be walking around with a limp for the next couple of months if he doesn't see a healer soon."

Saffir's eyes widened and she began crying again regardless of the paralysis. Her tears were those of joy this time as a world she'd thought she lost three separate times tonight opened itself up to her once again. If this woman truly had no intention of killing her then she really could be with Briath and Amren as she was meant to be. She just hoped her husband would forgive her and they could go back to how they once were.

"He asked me not to hurt you ya know. Guy has a stranger talking to him about how much she'd love to torture him, and kidnapping his daughter but the first thing he decides to worry about is his wife. I didn't get it at first and I probably never will." She said not being entirely truthful.

She understood perfectly, but it just surprised her to see two people who held so much animosity towards one another hold so much love at the same time. A part of her thought it was beautiful. True love should look something like what the two had for each other...minus all the heartbreak, arguments, and cheating.

"Remember what I said though bitch. If that little girl of yours doesn't get the love she should eventually someone who works for my guild will kidnap her, and then we'll come for you and your husband. When that happens I'll be sure to personally torture the hell out of you two for being the reason such a young brat sets foot inside one of my torture rooms." She said before casting another spell over the woman.

It was a weak sleep spell that'd keep the woman unconscious long enough to get her back inside the city. It was a good thing children didn't have the means or the money to organize such a thing. If they did the two would undoubtedly suspect Briath had put her up to this, but as it was there was no one to point a finger at for setting this up, so they had no choice but to believe her story no matter how outlandish it might sound.

She hoisted the woman onto her shoulders and began thinking about how easy it'd been to do something that should have been elaborate and taken more time and planning.

Her status as Thane of Whiterun had actually served to help. She'd instructed the guards who patrolled the area around the drunken huntsman at this time to ignore any cries for help they might hear within the next ten minutes.

They'd been skeptical and even outright refused at first, but when her expression grew stern and she remarked that that she'd scorch their asses and go tell the Jarl why she did it they complied not wanting to upset the woman. It was no secret that she was dragonborn as news spread fast that the Jarl had named the dragonborn Thane of Whiterun. Pretty much everyone knew she was the Thane by now as the guards had went around giving the others a description of the woman so as not to confuse her with the common rable, and the guards couldn't help but spread word that the mysterious woman walking around in dark robes with an Imperial woman in steal armor at her side was dragonborn.

No one wanted to see if she could breath fire like a dragon so when she threatened to scorch their asses and tell Balgruuf why the guards quickly, albeit begrudgingly agreed to ignore anything they heard coming from the Inn, just for ten minutes as she'd asked.

Satisfied with their compliance Quintessence walked inside and cast a sleep spell on everyone insight before walking upstairs to claim her prize. The rest was now history as her job was already done. No doubt the two would be sure to shower their little girl with attention now, and their experiences would not only make them more grateful towards life but towards each other as well, and that should take care of their habit of arguing with one another.

If not she could always just pay them another visit in the future.

She almost frowned at the thought of placing so much time and effort into doing something good that had no benefit towards her whatsoever, but then again what were fairy goodmothers good for? As long as Briath appreciated it she figured it was alright and she didn't mind.

She frowned though when thinking about just how much of her night she'd spent scaring the girls parents shitless. She really should have kept that ten gold she'd found in the dresser as payment for her troubles.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Amren burst into his home trying to ignore the pain in his leg as he rushed up the stairs to ensure his daughter was still laying soundly in her bed. He had to check up on her. He needed to see if she was okay and possibly even wake her up just to give her a hug and tell her how sorry he was for paying her so little attention.

He was scared to death for his Saffir of course, but the woman hadn't hurt him too badly, nor had she killed him so he figured his wife would be okay. He hoped with all his heart that she'd be fine but right now his daughter came first.

He found himself frozen when he reached the top of the stairs and saw his wife already there holding her tightly. His eyes filled with tears of relief and a very tired Briath looked up, her expression becoming one of shock as she saw her father looking at her and her mother with tears trailing down his face.

"Papa? Are you okay?" She asked worried for the man she'd never actually seen cry before.

The girls words startled her mother who'd noticed the sound of the door opening, but had been too out of it to even acknowledge it at the moment. She looked up meeting her husband's eyes which almost held just as many tears as hers. He couldn't look her in the eye at the moment as he passed the top step.

He didn't really know how to begin apologizing to both his wife and his daughter but he knew he had to before things could be the way they should be.

"I don't really know how to say this Saffir, but I'm so sorry I've been neglecting you for the past few years."

The woman's heart did a backflip in her chest and she raised a hand to cover a choked sob that nearly escaped her throat at her husband's words. The very moment she'd gotten back to the house and woken Braith up to apologise for neglecting her she'd been wracking her brain for a way to apologise to her husband, and here he was apologising to her when she didn't even feel she was deserving of one.

"I'm sorry for neglected you and Briath and I have no intention of allowing myself to do that again. I promise that if you'll give me another chance I-"

The man's words were cut off as his wife crashed into him and began muttering apologies into his shoulder that he could barely understand through all her sobs. He didn't understand what she had to apologise for. He'd driven her into having an affair so he'd never blamed her for that. Sure he'd been upset, but he'd always blamed himself. He stumbled on his feet slightly as his injured right leg threatened to give out under the strain. He wrapped his arms around his wife taking in her scent and basking in the feeling of love he had for the woman that he hadn't been able to feel in years.

Saffir broke the embrace to look him over and ensure he was okay, nearly falling into a state of panic upon spotting his still bleeding leg. She quickly lead him towards the bed, coaxing him to sit down and moving to go get some of the bandages they kept in the cupboard downstairs but she found herself stopped when her husband caught her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

She allowed herself to be embraced by the man she loved regardless of how much she wanted to see to his wound, only because the feeling he was giving her at the moment was one she'd been missing greatly for the past five years or so. She'd allow herself to bask in the warmth provided by her family for the next three minutes or so, but then she would pull her husband downstairs so that she could properly clean and dress the wound.

Saffir held an arm out towards Briath and her father smiled warmly at her while she looked on in disbelief at the two before developing a pool of tears herself. She only momentarily wondered if she was dreaming before moving to be with the two people she loved more than anything in the world.

She hadn't really believed it at first but the woman had done it. Her fairy godmother had really granted her wish somehow, but she was too grateful at the moment to wonder exactly how she'd done it. She just wished she'd have thought to thank the woman ahead of time, but something in her gut told her she'd be seeing her again one day anyway.

The family were all currently too wrapped up in the comfort of one another to notice the small breeze that flowed through the house with the opening and closing of the door. An invisible figure that'd never actually left Saffir after bringing her back inside the city stepped out into the cool night air and smiled up at the sky before making her way towards the temple of Kynereath.

Maybe being a fairy godmother wasn't so bad after all.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Morihatha moved to the main room of the Inn and saw Lydia laughing heartily with Hulda and a few other Nords. Apparently she missed a good joke or something but she really didn't care about that.

Her lady had said she was only visiting the temple of Kynereath but she'd been gone for a couple of hours now and she was starting to grow antsy as her worry increased. She knew the woman could handle herself as she'd survived for hundreds of years without help apparently, but still. That did nothing to stop her from worrying when the woman was out of sight for too long.

"Have you seen our lady?" She asked stopping in front of Lydia who was obvious well into her cups at the moment.

"Nnooo.." The woman practically slurred looking at Morihatha as if she couldn't quite remember who she was. "You do mean the scary hot chick we both work for right?"

"Yes I do." Morihatha said feeling a bit of irritation bubble inside her at the woman's uncaring demeanor.

If the sun weren't due to rise soon she would have left five minutes ago and began tracking the woman by her scent.

"Oh..weeell I'm sure she's fine wherever she went. That chicks a badass if I've ever seen one."

"Maybe you should try to go find her." Morihatha almost growled knowing the woman likely wouldn't get very far in her state, but it'd serve to unnerve her a bit at least.

"She's fiiine! Your worrying about nothing!"

Morihatha glared at Lydia but the Nordic woman only smiled in return obviously unperturbed by the harsh stare down she was receiving. Morihatha felt her anger peek and her eyes began flooding red from the edges as her mind filled with the image of herself just ripping Lydia's throat out. Someone quickly pulled her attention away from the Nordic woman and her friends by placing a hand on her shoulder, and she turned prepared to shoot a hiss at or maybe just rip apart whoever was dumb enough to touch her.

"Rough night Empress?"

Morihatha quickly became aware of herself and what she'd been about to do and she looked down unable to look the woman in her eyes, frowning as she began to thoroughly began chastise herself. If the woman hadn't shown up when she had Lydia would surely be dead and of course the blood shead wouldn't have ended there.

No way the Inn's denizens would just allow her to kill someone they knew in such a brutal fashion and no way would she have just allowed them to kill her for killing Lydia.

Quintessence realized that her hand madien seemed to have a greater bloodlust than what she thought was normal for vampires. "Are you okay?" She asked wondering if she was just upset from earlier.

"I'm fine." Morihatha lied. She honestly wasn't okay. She still hadn't gotten over the fact that her parents were killed by the Thalmor who were currently supposed to be at peace with the Empire. The same Empire that had not only let her parents die, but lied about how it'd happened as well. "Just...tired is all."

She almost winced when she realized how lame that excuse must have sounded to the other woman considering she knew it was impossible for her to feel real physical exhaustion. Quintessence didn't question her on it though, or call her on her lie, and Morihatha found herself thankful the denizens of the Inn were too drunk to notice her eyes flood red momentarily.

"I'm about to just go lay down. Sorry about that." She said apologizing to Lydia who cheerily remarked that it was nothing.

She began walking back towards their room, laying down when she got inside but staring at the ceiling. She didn't understand how Quintessence actually slept considering she didn't feel the least bit tired. How did one force themselves to go to sleep when your body had no need for such a thing?

"Septum for your thoughts?" Quintessence remarked surprising the woman who hadn't seen or heard her entering the room.

"How'd you get past my hearing and sense of smell?" She sat up and questioned a little unnerved at how she'd done that.

"Your mind is distracted so you aren't picking up on things you would usually. And honestly I really wanted to see if I could."

Morihatha laid back down and closed her eyes looking for a way to summarize all that she had on her mind since earlier.

"My life is a lie and it always has been. My parents and my grandparents died at the hands of fucking Altmer. Altmer placed inside their positions of power within Imperial provinces by the Empire itself. The only reason I joined the legion in the first place was to honor their memory, but I'm not sure if that was actually the right choice. The people I sentenced to death before you were all bandits and I just realized I was even more wrong for that then I thought."

"Then why'd you sentence me to the block?" Quintessence asked unable to help herself.

"Because you had this confidence about that really pissed me off." She said unsure of whether she should smile or frown at the memory. "It was like you knew exactly where you were headed in life and you dared anyone to stop you. I always wanted that. The confidence to lead myself in the direction I wanted to go, but it's something I could never do. I mean just look at me now. I'm still not my own leader..but I guess that's beside the point. I was jealous when I saw you because you were everything I ever wanted to be. That's why I sentenced you to the block."

Quintessence felt a bit flattered that the woman held such a high opinion of her at first glance, and she couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Well I don't know about all that considering I hardly know where I'm headed in life. Usually my father just sends me to random places and I wing it till he sends me a letter summoning me back home. You should also know that you are your own leader. You chose to follow me so you're actually leading yourself. I don't force you to stand by my side even though I have claimed your life. You're dictating your own fate by choosing to follow me, and you shouldn't believe otherwise."

Morihatha took a moment to think about it and she smiled realizing the woman was right, but still. A part of her didn't feel that way.

"Yea but-"

"Shut up." Quintessence said silencing her and making her way towards the woman's bed.

"You like choosing things for yourself so I'll give you the opportunity to make a crucial decision right now. A decision that'll have a pretty big effect on the future ahead." She said surprising the Imperial by grasping both her hands and holding them on either side of her as she perched herself above her in a manner similar to what she'd done in the mine when she feed from her for the first time. Only this time the position they were in held far more intimacy than it had before.

"W-What are you doing!?" A now flustered Morihatha asked feeling her entire face grow warm.

Quintessence didn't bothering answering her as she smirked and moved her face towards the woman's neck trailing her tongue along the flesh there and eliciting a shiver from the Imperial woman before moving her mouth up a bit to whisper directly into her ear.

"I'm giving you the chance to choose the direction you want to go." She said before moving her head back down to nibble at the woman's throat. "Choose wisely Empress because your decision will affect your future." She said going back to what she was doing.

Morihatha's body shivered and she released a breathless moan as the woman above her as she bit down harder into the flesh of her neck, sinking her fangs in just enough to penetrate the skin and send a wave of ecstasy through the Imperial.

"I thought you didn't swing this way.." The Imperial breathed feeling like she should stop the woman now before it was too late. "Why the hell are you so good at this?"

Quintessence snickered a bit but didn't take the time to answer or slow down in what she was doing. She truly didn't swing that way as she could never recall ever feeling any kind of true attraction towards another woman, but then again it's not like she was particularly fond of men either for that matter. She recognized sexual appeal when she saw it but she was hardly ever turned on by anything.

To her surprise however the thought of teasing the Imperial actually did something for her although she didn't expect anything to come of it. If Morihatha didn't stop her though there was no telling how far she would take it honestly. She moved a hand between the Imperial's thighs and Morihatha let out a low but high pitched squeal of surprise and attempted to close her legs.

Quintessence found her hand trapped between the woman's thighs just an inch below her happy spot and she couldn't help but grin even more as she began nibbling on the woman's ear earning an actual moan this time rather than just a silent one. She began to wonder who was enjoying this more, her or the Imperial.

Morihatha's mind was all over the place and she really didn't know what to do. She wasn't attracted to the Breton, but she did find the woman attractive. She wasn't into woman, but damn the woman was pushing all the right buttons. She wanted to tell the woman stop, but she didn't. She was a total fucking wreck right now and she had no idea what the hell to do.

Her mind was telling her no but her body...her body was telling her yes. Her heart just seemed saying I'm staying out of it.

"St-stop.." She stammered in between the heavy breaths she hadn't noticed she'd begun taking.

"Hm?" Quintessence said still trailing kisses up and down the woman's neck and the side of her face, nibbling here and there because that seemed to drive the Imperial woman crazy.

Her eyes widened when she felt a bit of moisture touch her fingers. She looked up and glanced at the woman who refused to meet her gaze and wondered if she was really that turned on by her little foreplay. She grinned and went back to what she was doing, using her hand to massage the inside of the woman's thighs since Morihatha wouldn't allow her to go any further.

Morihatha let out another moan and attempted to tell the woman stop yet again but her voice escaped her. Quintessence bite into her neck again and another wave of ecstasy shot through her causing her to arch her back into the woman, placing the Bretons hand right where she wanted/didn't want it to be.

Quintessence looked to her again and wondered if she was going to tell her to stop before she took it too far.

Morihatha said nothing. Just stared at the wall to the right as if she was trying her best not to die of mortification or something. Quintessence found her embarrassment to be adorable and moved to begin nibbling and kissing on her neck again.

Just as she was about to truly begin to pleasure the woman their heads both swung around as they heard the door open. Time stood still as Lydia stood right there in the doorway looking at the two in confusion before putting two and two together in her mind and growing just about as red as a tomato.

"I-I-I..." She stammered not really sure how to react to what she was seeing.

"I'msorryIinterruptedyoutwoillbebacklatergoodbye!!!" The woman bellowed stepping back into the hall and slamming the door before either one of them could say anything.

Morihatha wasn't really pale enough to flush, but she could actually blush to the point that it was noticable if you were paying attention and boy was she red at the moment. Quintessence grinned before releasing the woman's hands and leaning forward to place a warm and affectionate kiss on the cheek, one that touched the side of her lips.

She felt heart thumping so fast in that moment she was sure the Breton could hear it. She felt a bit of disappointment when the woman pulled away and shot her a sultry grin that might have been a bit playful before she stood and made her way back towards the other side of the room.

Morihatha unconsciously moved her tongue over the area of her lips where the Bretons kiss had fallen and she momentarily wondered what the hell it was the mage had just did to her. She couldn't recall ever feeling so turned on before, much less by a woman.

"I..I'm about to go take a shower." She said standing and picking up a set of commoners clothes out of the two pairs she'd taken to wearing when lazing about the Inn since steel armor wasn't very comfortable for laying around. The pair she commonly wore was soaked through with sweat and other bodily fluids at the moment.

Crazy how the woman hadn't been coming onto her for any longer than five minutes, yet she was sweating as if she'd just run a marathon or something.

"You want to know why I stopped." Quintessence said wording what should have been a question as a statement.

Morihatha kept her gaze fixed on the door leading to the hall unable to face the woman at the moment. True she did wanted to know, she was dying to know actually, but she was too embarrassed by the situation to sate her curiousity.

A part of her didn't want to know at all because admitting that she was curious as to why would be pretty much the same as admitting that she wanted what had happened to continue, which she was afraid actually happened to be the case.

Quintessence didn't say anything and she wondered why the woman would word the question as a statement if she intended to wait for an answer anyway. There went the Breton playing her right into her hands again like she'd begun doing the moment she'd gotten her out of Helgen. She couldn't help the need to sate her curiousity though, so she ended up nodding a yes hoping the woman would see it because she was too embarrassed to actually verbally admit she wanted to know.

"I stopped because you never choose the direction you wanted to take. You were just letting me lead you there, but you never actually decided for yourself where you wanted to go."

Morihatha had forgotten all about that in all honesty. She found the fact that Quintessence would do such a thing just to test her to be a bit unnerving, but it's not like she hadn't enjoyed it anyway regardless of how embarrassing it turned out to be.

The Breton was right when she said she'd never picked which direction she wanted to go but...

"What if I didn't know which way I wanted to go at the time?" She inquired wondering what the woman would say to her basically admitting she liked it but didn't know if she wanted to continue. Then again as she thought about it the small puddle that'd formed between her thighs was the the only indication the woman needed to know she'd liked it.

Quintessence raised an eyebrow and shot her a look of amusement she hadn't seen since they left the mine. "Then I would say that you're a scandalous dyke bitch." She replied earning a laugh from the Imperial woman as she recalled saying that to the Breton.

"Is this the part where I slap your face and bite your neck soon after?"

Quintessence couldn't help but to laugh a bit before shooting the woman another grin.

"Nope, because if we're both scandalous dyke bitches now Lydia gets to do all the slapping from now on."

Morihatha snickered before blushing again at the thought of facing Lydia after what she'd witnessed.

"Speaking of Lydia-"

Quintessence waved her off. "Don't worry about her, she probably thought it was hot. I'll tell her what it was about later."

"Okay." Morihatha said stiffing a laugh and taking a step forward before she stopped herself needed to ask another question. "I just gotta ask. If you really don't swing that way how could you be so comfortable with what you were doing."

"That's an easy one. I'm not really physically attracted to you but I do find you attractive, and the thought of watching you squirm underneath me turns me on. I can say without a shadow of a doubt you're the only woman I would consider doing such a thing with. So if you ever do decide you want to venture down the path less traveled just let me know and I'd be glad to guide you." The woman said the last part playfully but Morihatha knew she was serious, and she hoped she couldn't see the flame in her cheeks.

She quickly nodded letting the woman know she understood her answer before leaving the room and heading in the direction of the washroom. Her shower would definitely be a long one. She knew she wasn't attracted to the Breton woman like that either, but she did happen to find the woman attractive, and the thought of drowning beneath the ocean of pleasure she was sure the Breton could provide created a shiver down her spin and a heat between her legs.

Back inside the room Quintessence touched a finger to her lips right where they'd touched upon the Imperial's. She'd purposely kissed her on the side of the lips in such a way as to give her yet another chance to decide just what she wanted to do. If she'd have moved her face an inch to the side and truly allowed the Breton to capture her lips than she would have been choosing to continue, but the woman truly had no idea what she'd wanted so Quintessence didn't bother.

Sure she could've coaxed her into actually deciding but that would have defeated the point. Morihatha was so used to having things decided for her that she hardly knew how to make her own decisions it would seem. The decision to join the legion had likely been one she decided for herself at as a way to feel closer to her parents.

After that all that she'd done had likely been the things a soldier was expected to do, besides the unwarranted executions of course. She'd likely had no idea what she wanted out of life at the time she joined the legion anyway, so it had been more of an only option rather than a decision she choose to make for herself.

How the woman simply laid there content to let Quintessence have her way with her because she couldn't decide what she truly wanted was the perfect metaphor for how she did the same thing with life. The Breton had heard her utter stop, but she'd done so in a voice so small and lacking in conviction she couldn't help but continue.

She'd started as a way to help the woman finally begin making real decisions for herself and she'd only half expected it to go so far. She had intended to stop if the woman didn't make her own decision, but she could only grin as she realized had Lydia never walked in the room she'd have been all over, and inside the Imperial woman by now.

Morihatha had basically been saved by the Nord because for a moment there Quintessence had no intention to stop.

Looking towards the door to their room she figured she really should go find Lydia and explain to her what was happening, although she likely wouldn't believe the truth of the matter anyway.

She burst into laughter upon recalling Lydia's face go from the usual pale Nordic skin tone to the deepest red of a twightlight dawn. She didn't know who'd been more embarrassed in that moment, the Nord or the Imperial.

As Morihatha got into the washroom and got the chance to clear her mind of the pleasures after effects only one thought rang clearly through her head. _"What the hell was that!?"_

 ** _Sanguine approves this chapter_**

 **I honestly didn't know if I should have included that moment with Quintessence and Morihatha considering this is a Quintessence/Alduin fic, and that's what ppl came to read, but I couldn't help it. I don't really write my characters I just assign them a personality and let them write themselves. TRUST ME when I say I was just as surprised as you guys when that went down. I feel like it can be used to add more to the story but I wanted to know how you guys felt about it so please comment and let me know if you didn't like it or anything and I'll TRY to keep my characters from going down that road again.**


	10. First Lessons-Part 1

**I'm sure you guy's have already guessed I'll be changing things to better suit the sense of realism I'm trying to inject into the story, and to also suit the image of the world I desire. For instance I'll be changing how in the game Mirabelle wears apprentice robes despite holding the position of master wizard, and a bunch of other things that didn't really make sense.** **I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter.**

First _lessons_

 ** _15K Words_**

Quintessence felt the herself growing more excited as the seconds go seemed to go slower in contrast with her breathing which in turn speed up.

In the three days that'd passed since the Breton spent the night playing Fairy godmother, and cupid by some extension, she and her madiens claimed three bounties on three different groups of bandits. Much to her annoyance though they hadn't put up any kind of a fight. Lydia and Morihatha seemed grateful they hardly had to break a sweat, but Quintessence couldn't handle the monotony.

Between claiming a bounty every night and returning to the city to rest or just walk around during the day she was beginning to grow bored pretty quickly. Lydia passed the time they spent inside the city easy enough. The woman didn't seem to grow bored as long as she had the money to buy ale, a book to read, and a sword to swing so she could train alongside the guards up at dragonsreach.

Morihatha usually passed the time by reading or arguing with Lydia. The Nordic woman was adjusting to her new companions quicker than expected. To anyone who didn't know the three it might have seemed like they'd all been traveling companions for a while now. Lydia seemed to like teasing Morihatha about what'd happened three days ago, and Morihatha didn't take kindly to being teased so the two would always fall into an argument whenever Lydia inevitably found a way to bring it up.

Quintessence didn't mind though. She actually found it funny which only encouraged Lydia and made it more embarrassing for the Imperial.

However that wasn't enough to keep her entertained. She'd briefly contemplated just sneaking into someone's house in the dead of night to rob them blind, but she doubted that'd provide anything other than a momentary thrill, and considering she could make more money from claiming bounties than she could from stealing the valuables of most people she had no real reason to do it.

So on the forth night she'd done what she always did and went to Hulda to see just who the Jarl wanted dead this time around. As she took the paper from the woman her bored expression quickly became one of surprise, and then excitement.

Now she and her companions stood just outside the Bleak wind basin giants camp watching one of the largest land dwelling creatures in Tamriel lumber through the plans around it with seemingly no aim. The grin she was wearing would have widened even more at the bored look on the creatures face if that was at all possible.

Divines, things just fell perfectly into place sometimes. The way to cure his borderdome was the same way to cure hers.

"Are you two ready?" She asked turning towards the women behind her.

The two exchanged a look before turning back towards appearing nervous and a more than a bit hesitant to attack the creature before them. Quintessence found it odd for Morihatha considering she'd charged head first into battle with the giant that'd been attacking the farm just outside the city when they first arrived.

"Can we rethink this?" Lydia asked gazing past the Breton towards the intimidating figure that had no idea of the nearby threat. "I know you two can see perfectly in the dark but there's nothing stopping me from tripping over a rock and getting my face bashed in with that things club."

"And here I thought Nords we're the most fearless warriors on the face of Nirn. You disappoint me Lydia."

The Nordic woman looked offended and she opened her mouth to reply before the Imperial cut her off.

"Don't you think we're a little short handed to be trying to take down something like that?" Morihatha questioned feeling

"No. I'm sure I've fought worse. It's not like it's a dragon or anything. It's just a giant."

"Mhm." The former soldier hummed using her right arm to grip her left side and while holding her left arm up to place a hand under her chin as she sent the mage a probing gaze with an unspoken question behind her eyes.

The elder could only smile silently beckoning the woman to speak the question she knew wouldn't be likely to stop her frome acting on the urge to overcome a powerful ally anyway.

"I remember us having help in the form of a dark elf wielding destruction spells and a small company of guards when we took on that dragon. And we still ended up with injures afterwards." Morihatha said knowing her words would have no effect.

"Details, details." Quintessence said with an inward chuckle as she waved the woman off. "What's the deal with Balgruuf and Irileth anyway?" She asked a moment later directing her question towards Lydia seeing this as a chance to pry.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The woman asked obviously having no idea what she was talking about.

"Never mind." Quintessence sighed wondering if everyone living in dragonsreach was blind or something.

She wondered if Balgruuf had a wife and if so how did she feel about her husband's apparent fondness for the Dunmer woman. She wondered if Irileth had such a cold outward demeanor because she was forced to watch the man whom she loved marry someone he didn't really care for because of political reasons.

Faendal almost lost his life more than once in Bleak falls barrow because of love. Amren and his wife had likely spent the last five years in misery that'd eventually taken their daughter under it's influence because of love. Balgruuf was known to be very temperamental at times. As was his housecarl, and that was likely a result of the love they had for each other that they could never permit themselves to show.

"Love must really be a bitch." She thought wondering if it was just the poor souls of Whiterun hold or if that was just how love worked in general.

She looked to her companions and considered asking them if they'd ever experienced love in the romantic sense. After taking a moment to think about it though she excluded Lydia considering the Nordic woman could be stiff as a fucking brick sometimes. Plus the only thing she truly seemed to have a love for was the next cup of med.

"Have you ever been in love Empress?"

"Wh-What..?" Morihatha gasped, her eyes widening at the suddenness of such a question. "N..No.." She breathlessly supplied wondering where the question had come from.

Lydia raised an eyebrow and momentarily glanced at her Thane wondering what the hell had gotten into the woman before turning back towards the giant not too far away from them. Maybe the Breton was about to confess to having deeper feelings for the Imperial woman in case they didn't survive this fight?

"You'd tell me if you were right?"

Morihatha seemed unable to find her voice at the moment so she simply nodded and Quintessence smiled before turning around feeling satisfied. People talked about love like it was such a magical thing to experience but so far she'd only seen it be the cause behind more than a little bit of pain.

"So are you guys backing me up or not?" She asked getting back to the subject at hand.

"Are you going to summon some of those deadra of yours before the fight?" Morihatha inquired hoping the woman would say yes.

"Dremora make things too easy sometimes. I want to have fun and they'd just hog it all for themselves."

Morihatha opened her mouth to reply but a pointed frown from the Breton silenced the words before they touched air.

"You know what.. I can handle this by myself. You two just stay here and watch." She said unsheathing her sword, walking around the boulder, and walking off in the direction towards the giant.

"She's just throwing herself out in the open." Lydia said, speaking with a bit of confusion before reminding herself of exactly who this woman was. "Sometimes I think she does things that are crazy because it throws her enemies off." The Nord remarked more to herself than the woman standing a few feet away from her.

"She definitely makes it work. Weird to actually see someone walking straight up to a giant by themselves though." Morihatha replied wondering what her lady was planning before looking towards the hunting bow Lydia was just pulling from her back. "You might as well put that thing away. It's too dark for you to shoot anything that isn't right in front of you accurately. You might take aim at the giant but for all we know you'd just end up hitting our lady with those meaty hands of yours."

Lydia turned to shoot the woman a glare over her shoulder that she was sure the Imperial could easily see regardless of the darkness around them.

"At least I know what to do with my hands, unlike some repressed dyke Imperials I know."

Morihatha developed her own glare in response to the Nords statement but didn't bother replying as she already knew where this little squabble was heading. She and Lydia needed to keep their eyes on the Breton in case she required assistance and now wasn't really the time for bickering. It's not that they didn't think she was incapable of killing a giant, it's the fact that they had no idea just what she'd have to do in order to do it.

Niether of them were very fond of being between an excited Quintessence and a target she saw fit to launch destruction spells towards. The giant was an intimidating figure but in all actuality they feared the mage more than they did the lumbering creature she was after.

Quintessence was whistling a little tune she learned from a certain prince of madness as she approached the creature and wondered at which way she might slay it. Destruction was the option that begged consideration more so that the others on her mind but that was too easy she figured.

The creature stopped in it's aimless walk and lifted it's eyes towards where she stood. She was still outside the circle of light from fires of the camp, but she figured it could likely smell her and she wondered what exactly she smelled like to other people, or things. She cupped her hands together and charged a bolt of thunder inside them wondering if the mamouths currently grassing in another part of the field would notice when one of their master's fell under attack.

The giant let loose a grunt of warning as it's eyes fell directly on the Breton woman who now stood illuminated by the spell she was charging. Quintessence let loose a low growl of challenge she was sure the creatures ears picked up on and it let out another grunting sound before it began to quickly saunter over towards her position.

The Breton didn't know how creatures could identify that growl for what it was but it was the second time it'd actually worked. First on the dragon and now on the giant. She figured it had something to do with the dragons blood but she didn't dwell on it too much. She was grateful she had a way to let the things that weren't human know she was challenging them. It made things seem all the more fun for some reason.

She blasted the giant with the thunder bolt and it halted in it's tracks from the impact of the spell. It quickly began to move forward again and she held out her hands duel casting a torrent of sparks directly into the creatures face, but it continued on seemingly without a care in the world. Quintessence rolled out of the way as the creature brought it's club up and then down towards her position.

The crude weapon slammed into the ground with enough force to cause it to shake causing Lydia's eyes to go wide from where she and Morihatha crouched observing the battle.

Quintessence held up her left hand and began pumping the giant full of sparks again and the creature turned around letting loose an angered grunt before rushing her position again. The mage quickly dropped her hand and crouched into a roll before running in the opposite direction of the creature. The ground behind her shook with the tell tale shake of a giants club striking earth and Quintessa's grin grew.

She turned and fired two blast of chain lightning into the creature as it rushed towards her. She turned back around and began running the moment the spells crashed against the creatures skin. While running she noticed a ledge not too far from where she was and she quickly turned making her way towards that as the ground shaking foot steps behind her only got closer and closer nearly causing her to stumble.

She reached the ledge and quickly pushed a small amount of magicka below her feet while pushing off the ground, levitating onto the small rise in the land and turning to face the giant that'd stopped rushing forward and quickly moved to the side to make it's way to where she was.

Quintessence waited until the giant was just reaching her position on the ledge and she jumped down towards the ground before turning to bathe the creature in yet another shower of sparks. It let out a pained grunt and moved to get down from the ledge and the woman continued shocking the creature as it was currently powerless to defend itself or do anything to stop her.

Finally finding itself on level with the mage again the giant charged and brought it's club down towards the woman. Quintessence rushed forward and rolled through It's legs, picking herself up and launching two thunder bolts at it's back causing it to howl in pain and stumble forward before turning around and rushing towards her with renewed vigor.

She grinned and jumped up levitating herself onto the ledge just as she'd done before. The giant apparently not being the brightest brazer in the bandit hideout rushed it's way up the hill again and she began shocking it yet again, marveling at how foolish the creature was to let her repeat her same strategy from before.

The giant made it's way up the hill and walked out onto the small ledge that protruded from the ground and Quintessence just leapt from it again, gliding to slow her decent even though that wasn't really needed.

Once again proving itself to be duller than the handle of an iron war axe the giant back tracked, walking off the ledge and down the hill towards the Breton woman who raised her hands and began to shock it again as she wondered just how much damage it could take.

The giant began closing the distance between the two once it was down the hill again and Quintessa's grin turned into a smirk as she jumped over a swing of it's hand and levitated herself atop The ledge once again. Apparently too dumb to know when to give up or know when the odds weren't in it's favor the giant let loose a loud grunt of anger and began making it's way up the hill once again but Quintessence was just about finished play the same game with the creature.

She breathed deeply and momentarily closed her eyes before letting power flow from her lips in the form of a shout.

 **"Fus!"**

The creature stumbled backwards but just slightly and she took the opportunity to draw her iron blade, rushing towards the ledge, leaping off and planting the weapon into the giants shoulder.

The creature howled in pain and she only gripped the weapon tighter before channeling a thunderbolt through the metal and blasting herself backwards as the powerful energies caused the sword to pretty much explode right inside the giants shoulder.

She hit the ground hard unable to stop herself by gliding in time due to the surprise caused by how the sword reacted to her spell. She hadn't expected it to explode. Maybe melt but not explode.

She winced as she picked herself up but she could already feel her back begin mending itself, so she spared her injures little thought and made her way to the now downed creature. She thanked both Kynereath and Stendar she hadn't lost her hand and moved magicka into the appendage to accelerate the healing process.

She came to stand in front of the giant which lay completely still and motionless, a large hole torn into it's shoulder that was actually wide enough to spread to it's neck. There was no sign of life in it's eyes of course. No one could survive for perhaps more than two seconds with half their throats and most of their shoulder torn, or in this case literally blown out.

The Breton looked around and surely enough there was not a trace of her blade in sight, but she didn't care too much considering she'd only taken to using the thing for convenience.

She turned towards the camp and found the mamouths in the distance had continued what they were doing unaware of what'd just occurred while the remaining giant lay sleeping against a bed of rocks close to the center of the camp. She was grateful that one seemed to be far more lax than the one that currently lay dead at her feet. If circumstances had been just a bit different she'd have ended one.

"Are you okay!?" A somewhat frantic looking Morihatha asked coming to stand behind Quintessence.

"Where's Lydia?" She inquired looking behind the Imperial and seeing the Nord making her way towards were the two stood in front of the giants corpse.

Morihatha waved her hand as if Lydia's whereabouts were inconsequential and Quintessence grinned a bit at how the woman had quickly picked up upon that mannerism without even noticing.

"She was out of breath before we even closed half of the distance separating us from you." She said turning and narrowing her eyes at the figure a short distance away.

"Maybe if she put the tankard down for once and got off her fat ass to do some exercise she'd be able to keep up." The Imperial remarked insulting the woman as was per usual for the two now.

Quintessence laughed at the comment but didn't humor the Imperial with a response considering Lydia was only human and her stamina needed to recover over time unlike hers and Morihatha's which replenished itself almost as quickly as they could deplete it.

"So since I got the first one I think it only fair you and Lydia take out the other."

"What?"

 **0o0o0o0o0o0**

Back inside the city Quintessence kneeled in front of the shrine of Kynereath inside the temple paying her respects to the God she revered the most. When away from the temple she usually prayed on her necklaces, but going to a shrine rather than praying on the necklace showed a greater devotion.

She wondered when she would next come upon a shrine of Azura. She knew there was likely one in Skyrim somewhere but looking for it wasn't on her priorities list at the moment. That would have to come later after she was already somewhat comfortable within the country that would be serving as her new home until her father contacted her to say otherwise.

Finishing up her prayers a few minutes after she started she moved towards one of the wounded soldiers the priestess had yet to see to and began healing the man's wound. His blood gave off a certain stench and Quintessence didn't need to look at the wound to know it was infected. It was only a mild infection however, nothing a potion of cure poison couldn't fix.

Infection's weren't actually any viral sort of pathogen or most of them weren't at least. The majority of them were just harmful bacteria that acted as a kind of poison for the body. A potion of cure disease wouldn't work because the healing properties of the potion were meant to target viral agents. A potion of cure disease could get ride of bacterial agents, but only bacteria that acted as a pathogen.

Potions of cure poison were perfect for infections however because those potions were made for erasing any harmful foreign elements in the body. They even targeted diseases but they just weren't strong enough to do away with them.

Potions of cure disease were too specialized to get ride of infections while potions of cure poison weren't strong enough to deal with pathogens, but they did work well for infections. Due to most healers being unaware of this the majority of them still underwent the process of bleeding or cutting the infection out which was not only risky at times but was also time consuming and unpleasant.

Quintessence didn't have a potion of cure poison on hand but she did have the ingredients for one in her satchel.

She pulled the man up so that she could poured the contents of one of the temples healing potions into his mouth, before laying him back down and waiting for a moment or two. She smiled when she saw the soldiers frighteningly pale skin begin regaining some of it's color. It felt better to save a life sometimes than it did to take one...sometimes.

She said a short prayer to Kynereath wishing the man a speedy recovery before making her way towards the temples door aware of the look of shock the priestess of the temple wore as her eyes followed her across the room.

In the past week she'd visit the temple of Kynereath at different times during the night and to say short prayers to the temples deity. The priestess was always too preoccupied with healing someone to pay her any mind so she'd usually just nod in greetings and go back to her work which Quintessence didn't mind.

She knew the woman was likely surprised to see she was a healer. She'd walked pass wounded soldiers in this temple before without bothering to do anything for them. So why was this man any different from the others she likely wondered? It was simple really.

Unlike the other soldiers who's suffering she'd easily chosen to ignore this man had been approaching death's door. She was sure it'd happened plenty of times before but she'd rather not see anyone die in this temple if she could help it.

"He has a minor bacterial infection that can be seen to with a potion of cure disease. I'll take the ingredients necessary for one to Arcadia at the alchemy shop and you can pick up the potion later." She remarked stopping just in front of one of the temples doors to make sure the priestess heard her.

The woman seemed stunned for a moment before she quickly readopted her composer and gave a warm smile.

"Thank you friend. You have no idea how grateful I am for your help."

"Don't mention it." Quintessence said returning the smile before taking her leave.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0**

She broke into Arcadia's Cauldron and place the ingredients for a cure poison potion on the counter with a note and a bit of septums as payment. Right afterwards she returned to the Bannered Mare and found a drunken Lydia in the front room with an equally drunken Morihatha singing merely with the Inn's other drunken occupants.

If there was one thing that could be said about the Bannered Mare it was that the Inn became far livelier during the later hours of the night. All the citzens of Whiterun who had work during the day would come here to drink away their troubles or just to enjoy themselves.

She even saw the homeless man who wandered the market place asking for spare septums singing merely with a flagon in his hand and an arm around a guard who she hoped was off duty. The guard who likewise had an arm around the man's shoulder as he sung off key with the rest of the occupants of the room. There was not a person in sight or close by, save a red headed woman who seemed to be sober but sung along merely with the others.

Quintessence momentarily wondered if someone had brought the beggar his flask or if it was simply the result of a hard day's work for the man. Maybe the guy was filthy stinking rich but he just asked people for change everyday while presenting himself as he did so no one asked him for anything or expected anything from him.

The man didn't particularly smell of hard times, but he didn't smell of wealth either. He smelled like a living ale keg and Quintessence could only stare at the man in admiration as she wondered just what kind of being he had to be to gain such a smell without first sub coming to alcohol poisoning. At least the man wasn't a Deadra though... unlike the Imperial man in the dark robes sitting at the bar.

He seemed fond of challenging others to drinking contest and as far as she'd seen the creature had yet to lose.

She didn't know how a Deadra was disguising itself as a human and even living among them with such ease but this one was doing it somehow. All she really knew was he smell heavily of Oblivion. The scent he gave off wasn't the scent of a being who was of this world.

He also rented a room upstairs and seemed fond of seducing the woman who frequented the Inn and he had more than a few of them singing his praises. The woman who spoke of his sexual prowess did so with such reverence that their words practically bordered on worship.

Even Lydia who shot down most men ended up being another name on the list of women charmed out of their pants by the silver tongued Deadra. The following night Quintessence and Morihatha had asked the woman if he was as good as he was rumoured to be and the woman reddened considerably before replying that words did the man no justice.

Quintessence didn't know what kind of Deadra he was under the disguise but she figured he was likely some kind of agent of Sanguine sent into the world to spread the prince of debauchery's influence by seducing married and unmarried women for a night of meaningless sex, and getting people drunk off their asses to the point they underwent all kinds of ridiculous shenanigans.

Either that or he was an agent of Mephala since the Lady of whispers and her Deadric followers were known to be very sexual creatures as well. However Mephala was known to only have Deadric female followers, all other Deadra under her influence were nothing more than sex slaves and none would be provided the freedom this man possessed. Whoever in Oblivion he was, he was certainly a stud in the sheets.

Quintessence found the man to be an interesting figure but she had no desire to consort in anyway with any Deadra who wasn't or didn't work for the Lady of twightlight. She kept her distance regardless of the fact that she could sometimes feel his gaze following her across the room.

Already his eyes were the first set to land on her as she began making her way across the room, and she narrowed them as if to say she wasn't interested. He simply gave a wry smile and a shrug before turning back to his drink as of to say 'your lose'. She easily slipped past the Inn's drunken occupants without anyone else paying her any real attention as they were too busy singing or destroying their livers with Ale Med or Wine.

She slipped into the hall at the back of the Inn and proceeded towards the room that belonged to her and her companions. The noise dying down steadily as she proceeded down the hall thankfully.

She got to the room and used one of the two keys given to her by Hulda to unlock the door before stepping inside and letting go of a yawn before frowning as she realized she felt fatigued. She didn't yawn and she didn't get tired so that could mean only one thing.

The world eater was calling her in the way that only he could.

A part of her wanted more than anything to just head back into the Inn's main room and join in on the merry making so as not to fall asleep but another part of her was excited, even somewhat thrilled at the prospect of seeing the large dark dragon with the burning eyes again. In her life time she'd rarely ever come across individuals that she truly considered powerful. Practically everyone she knew or had ever known she'd always considered painfully weak.

Alduin was nothing like anyone she knew though. The dragon was rightfully arrogant as the power he radiated was like nothing she had ever before bore witness to. The anxiety she felt in the powerful creatures presence could be as annoying as it was intoxicating. He as a person, or a being of Aedric origin interested her a great deal, but his power...his power drew her in like a magnet.

She didn't even attempt to resist the pull as she sat down on her usual bed and began taking off her leather boots and loosing her dark robes of destruction so as to get more comfortable. She'd entertained the thought of avoiding sleep for no more than a second.

She wanted to see the world eater and feel the chill of fear and anxiety she knew he would cause to run along her spine and make her unsure of herself. Those feelings were something new to her and she found herself yearning for the experience now that another opportunity to feel them was presented.

Only Alduins presence could throw her off her game and make her feel any different than how she would feel usually. She might just get addicted to the feeling if she wasn't careful.

She allowed her back to touch the bed as she shut her eyes feeling far more excitement than one would usually feel before falling asleep. She was aware of the foreign feeling of fatigue drawing her back into the world that she had only ever known once before, and there was only a moment of darkness until she woke to a scene she knew she would never forget.

Like it was before and same as it'd been at Helgen the sky seemed alit with flame as it rained down fiery brimstone and death. The only sounds she could discern were the sounds of meteors crashing into stone and shattering upon impact, and the sound of the small town that was Helgen burning.

She looked into the sky but found no sign of the creature she knew to have summoned her here.

 **"Dovahkiin."** A voice rumbled behind her sending that oh so familiar tingle along the woman's spine.

She turned to observe the creature and remarked to herself that something seemed different than before. She didn't feel as frighten as she had the first few times they meant but she was still just as excited to be in the creatures presence, actually more so now that fear wasn't blanketing over her other rational thoughts and emotions.

"My name is Quintessence you know, Alduin." She said wondering why he always saw fit to address her by her new title. If the two were to develop any sort of familiarity with one another they would have to work their way to addressing one another on a first name basis.

Alduin snarled in displeasure but Quintessence found herself simply grinning, her eyes gleaming with excitement as he did so.

 **"Your name disgust me."** He said painly surprising the Breton and offending her slightly.

"Well excuse me for not living up to your expectations oh great one." She said sarcastically resisting the urge to give a roll of her eyes. "What is it you would prefer to call me?"

 **"Dinner."** The world eater replied with a smirk causing the woman's to a grin of amusement.

"Dinner huh? I'm not so sure you'd want to eat me. I'm well past my expiration date and I probably taste like too much crazy and insanity mixed together."

Alduin allowed a small chuckle at the woman's reply wondering somewhere in the back of his mind why she suddenly seemed so comfortable in his presence. The only being on Mundas who showed not a sliver of fear in his presence was Paarthunax, and the traitor always at least seemed wary around him.

 **"I've likely eaten crazier joor than you. There was once a group of humans so foolish as to believe they could defeat me with arrows and their pesky magics."**

The Breton couldn't help but snicker at his words. Indeed those soldiers were either very brave or very foolish. If they'd have followed her example and ran away like cowards more of their number would have likely survived.

"I think I know which day you're referring to." She remarked wondering if she and Alduin were actually engaging in casual conversation. "I remember a murder crazed dragon chasing me around an Imperial fort that day."

 **"You don't say."** Alduin purred leaning forward with a glint of humor in his eyes. **"I remember chasing some frightened joor around an Imperial fort that day."**

Quintessence tried to hold in her laughter but she wasn't quite successfully and she ended up letting out a snort along with a few chuckles before she looked back up, her eyes shinning with the same glint of humor his were.

"You shouldn't scare people like that. It can be considered rude you know."

Alduin reared his head back and roared in laughter this time. Quintessa's grin morphed into a smile. The dragon truly had a hearty laugh and she remarked to herself that she wouldn't mind hearing it more.

 **"Oh but I wasn't attempting to scare her, I was attempting to kill her. Yet she somehow managed to escape me..so I burned that measly little town to the ground."**

Quintessence look surprised at his statement. "You burn down Helgen because you couldn't find me? I'm flattered." She grinned.

Alduin looked a bit surprised at her response. He'd expected the woman to feel guilty at his words but instead she actually seemed proud. He allowed himself another toothy grin. This woman wasn't anything like the average joor apparently.

 **"So if I were to burn down another town because I couldn't find you?"**

Quintessence shrugged looking truly uncaring.

"I'd be double flattered and ask if could teach me how to breath fire and make the sky rain meteors so I can burn down villages too?"

Alduin's fit of laughter shook the ground this time and Quintessa's grin was from ear to ear. The world eater wasn't so bad when he wasn't being an ass or attempting to kill her.

"Anyone ever told you that you have a nice laugh? You aren't so bad when you aren't telling me how pathetic I am..or trying to kill me."

Alduin stopped laughing and looked at the Breton in puzzlement. Did she just pay his laugh a compliment? Not only that but did she actually compliment his character as well? No one had ever had the audacity to do such a thing before. He'd only ever received compliments on the strength of his Thu'um.

Quintessa's cheeks flushed slightly but she smiled at his look of puzzlement. She knew the two were of separate species but she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't find the look of confusion the dragon now wore to be cute.

In his momentary confusion Alduin had the presence of mind to register what was going on at the moment. He'd called the woman here to taunt her as he'd done before, but somehow he unknowingly found himself engaging her in cordial conversation and even joking around a bit.

The one thing he'd craved more than testing his Thu'um in combat during the many years he spent stuck inside the current of time was to speak with another. The first thing he'd done after burning Helgen to the ground had been resurrecting his kin. But as he did so he recalled none of them aside from Paarthunax ever had the courage to speak to him freely.

He'd been disappointment with the conversation they had to offer which was why he'd decided to pay the woman a visit the first time, and then a second. He found his conversation with the Dovahkiin to be refreshing much to his surprise. He didn't know exactly what he should think of that.

Quintessence could see Alduin seemed to be in thought at the moment and she tried not to concern herself with whatever it was he had on his mind. She wanted to tell him he looked cute when he was confused, but she didn't want to push her luck so instead she opted to change the subject seeing as he seemed to be wholly occupied by his thoughts at the moment.

"What do you think of the Deadra?" She asked seeing now as as good an opportunity as any to satisfy some of her questions.

Alduin seemed to come back to himself and he narrowed his eyes at her slightly.

 **"Did I give you permission to ask a question of me mortal?"**

"No." She shook her head. "But I don't exactly recall giving you permission to invade my dreams either, so I think we're even."

Alduin couldn't help but grin again. He found this side of the Dovahkiin to be interesting. He much preferred trading banter with the woman to mocking her for the weakness she displayed the other two times they had come into contact with one another. No one talked to him as freely as the woman was doing now and he found he actually liked it.

Had it been anyone else however he likely would have used either his claws or his Thu'um to skin them alive by now.

 **"You called me lizard last time we spoke."** He said changing the subject just because he could and he wasn't particularly fond of the beings she inquired about.

"You called me a bunch of things!" She bite back knowing there was no way he'd forgotten so soon.

Alduin gave another toothy grin and chuckled softly. Much to the mages Surprise her heart jumped at the sound.

 **"Yes I did, but at the time every word to leave my lips held more truth than you might have cared to admit."**

"Oh?" She cooed catching on to how he said at the time. "So what about now? Am I still just as pathetic as before or slightly less so?"

 **"Slightly less so..but not by much."** He replied the gleam of amusement still fresh in his eyes.

She noticed his eyes weren't the same fiery shade of red/orange they'd been when they'd meant at Helgen and when she'd last seen them. They were bright yellow in color similar to her bright golden.

"How'd your eyes change colors?" She inquired forgetting all her other questions momentarily.

Alduin growled a bit as the amusement left his eyes and they readopted a bit of the flames they'd possessed at Helgen. The Breton felt that familiar tinge of excitement creep down her spine and rise within her chest. She readopted a grin, but this one seemed almost mischievous compared to usual.

Alduin's eyes narrowed on the woman and he wondered if she found amusement in irritating him. Perhaps she was under the influence of that detestable drink her kind had a fondness for. Med was what they called it?

The foolish joor didn't realize she was toying with real fire at the moment.

 **"I still don't recall giving you permission to ask questions."** He spoke with a low rumble, his voice carrying an unspoken threat that was barely discernable yet fully audible at the same time.

Quintessence snorted knowing he couldn't likely hurt her here. She found she was actually enjoying their playful banter though so she thought it best not to upset him. At least not for the moment.

"Apologies your highness." She breathed, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "You could have just said they charge colors depending on your mood. It's no big deal, mine do the same."

Alduin lifted his head to appraise the woman curiously surprised to hear that. He'd never known a joor's eyes to change colors. In fact he was actually the only being who's eyes he knew to change colors depending on his mood.

 **"Show me."** He commanded.

"Why should I?" She said smirking at him playfully.

Alduin growled at the woman wondering who she truly thought she was to test his patience in such a way. He would've made a threat to burn down one of her kinds precious settlements, but he knew that wasn't likely to get the response he wanted from the woman. She would probably just laugh if he threatened her with that.

 **"Show me."** He commanded again with that same low rumble in his voice sending a shiver down her spine.

"What's in it for me?" She said unable to help but test the waters.

Alduin let out a low roar of agitation rather than a growl this time allowing his eyes to switch back to the color most people knew them for: fiery orange red.

 **"A quicker death than the one I had in mind for you."** He answered clearly feed up with her defiance.

Quintessence watched his eyes change with his mood feeling it give rise to more than a bit of intrigue and more than a bit of excitement. Her heart pouded in her chest as Alduin's fiery glare pierced her soul and rooted her to the spot commanding she obey or face unsavory consequences.

Consequences she knew weren't likely to come anytime soon, but still..she compelled to go along with his commanded anyway, but she took a few more moments to observe him and compare the parallels in the different shades of his eyes.

His gaze right now was piercing. So piercing she felt almost as if he was holding a dagger to the throat of her soul with his glare alone. It was intimidating. So much so that she felt rooted to the spot, almost as if he'd used a paralysis charm on her, and she could remember this feeling well from their last encounter. And last but not least his gaze seemed commanding, almost as if it held a power of it's own.

She admired this glare. The world eater could likely force an army of men to beat a swift retreat or bow at his feet with the heat of his gaze alone. It was certainly making her heart beat so fast it seemed as if it might leap from her chest at any moment now.

She then took into account the bright yellow his eyes had been a few moments ago.

His gaze had been amused, almost playful as if he'd just stumbled across a new activity he took at least a moderate amount of pleasure in. It'd been bewitching, practically drawing her in and adding yet another layer to the mystery and bundle of unsolved questions that was Alduin. It held curiousity as if she was something he had yet to understand, but had taken something of a slight interest in. Somehow they had been calming and exciting at the same time.

She found she liked him just fine as she was, but she actually preferred him with yellow eyes for some reason. Not because he was more agreeable, but for reasons she didn't know.

Satisfied with her brief observation she allowed her eyes to bleed red to satisfy his curiousity wondering just what he would think of them. This was her biggest intimidation factor when it came time to get something she wanted the hard way. Alduin would likely laugh at them however if she made an attempt to use them as tools of intimidation.

She briefly wondered if she could charm a dragon.

Alduin meanwhile was a bit taken aback by this and he tilted his head slightly attempting to understand exactly what this joor was besides dragonborn. She noticed his look of confusion and knew exactly what that felt like as there were still many things she wished to know or understand about the being of destruction currently intruding into her mind somehow.

"You look better with yellow eyes." She remarked when his eyes didn't change back to the color they'd been before.

 **"And you with red."** He replied painly still looking at her curiously. Not really noticing the way her face warmed slightly from what he saw as more of a statement than a compliment.

 _"Did...did Alduin just compliment me?"_ She thought unsure of exactly how she should reply to that.

After a few more moments of observing the woman the wold eater looked into the distance over his shoulder as if someone or something was calling him. He turned back to Quintessence, his eyes switching back to the bright yellow coloring they'd been before.

She wondered if female dragons found Alduin hot or not, and if they did were they intimidated by him? Did he have concubines since he was something of a king to his kind? It would make sense if he did. Did dragons get horney for that matter? Well of course they did considering they needed to procreate somehow. But then again they could just be asexual creatures? But then if they were there would be no need for both male and female genders right?

Alduin noticed the dragonborn lost in thought and he gave a slight growl to bring her back to the present seeing as his time was nearly up here.

 **"Do not let our brief chat cloud your judgement Dovahkiin. Regardless of how casually we just spoke with one another you are still my enemy and I yours. The next time we see each other in the flesh I will break you before banishing you from this world."** He said as his eyes readopted their fiery glow.

Quintessence felt a bit of disappointment at his statement but she knew his words to be true, and she'd never truly thought any different so she wasn't surprised.

"Maybe we can be frienenemies?" She supplied hoping he might agree. She couldn't help but find the world eater interesting for some reason.

Alduin's toothy grin returned and her heart did yet a backflip surprising her greatly.

 **"Maybe...but I wouldn't count on it."** He said before raising his head and shouting.

Quintessence woke with a start no longer feeling the slightest bit of fatigue. Instead she immediately felt confusion. "What was that? I'm not actually attracted to Alduin am I? I couldn't be. I don't even know the guy for starters and we aren't even of the same species." She reasoned unsure of why he'd caused her heart to speed up by grinning at her before taking his leave.

When she thought about it she'd been thinking a lot of uncharacteristic things about the world eater, but she pushed those thoughts away not wanting to dwell on them.

She knew one thing without a shadow of a doubt and that was that what Alduin had said was true. When the time came that she saw him again one of them would die.

She knew that regardless of her years of experience in battle and her skill with magicks she would lose to him as she was. She needed to grow stronger somehow. She needed to learn and perfect new shouts until her Thu'um was actually capable of competing with his.

Everytime Alduin shouted he spoke three words. The only words she knew was Fus, and Yol Tur Sul, but she had no understanding of the words of fire breath. She'd tried to use the shout before but she hadn't been able to conjure so much as an ember or small spark. There was no power behind the words as she spoke them.

She knew that she would need help defeating the world eater regardless of how much she perfected her Thu'um anyway.

Lydia and Morihatha weren't ready to help her face down such a creature as they were, but she could get them there. The first step in doing so would be crafting magic resistant armor for them since shouts were just an ancient form of magic.

The first step in crafting such armor would be finding some suitable soul gems. Only grand soul gems of course. Petty souls simply wouldn't do, and niether would greater or lesser souls.

She needed to find a place that had an abundance of soul gems, and she knew of one such place in Skyrim: The fabled college of Winterhold. A court mage could likely provide one or two soul gems but enchanting a full suit of armor would take four soul gems, and five in the case of Lydia who liked to use shields. Between her and Morihatha two full sets of armor would require at least nine soul gems and that didn't even account for weapons.

Hopefully she could get a new set of robes there too. She'd been doing her best to avoid running into Amren and his wife seeing as they might recognize the dark robes she wore.

Thankfully Morihatha was now ready to step into the sunlight for the first time since her transformation so traveling during the day shouldn't be much of a problem from this point on. She remembered Alduin's reply to her last words.

 _"Maybe we can be frenemies?"_

 _"Maybe...but I wouldn't count on it."_

She felt herself warm a bit and she couldn't help but smile at the possibility.

 _"Okay, so something is wrong with me. I shouldn't have warm feelings thinking about Alduin."_

Then again there had been something wrong with her for a while now so this little development was nothing worth really thinking about.

She wondered if the Greybeards would grow impatient with her. It had almost been a week since the monks summoned her nearly and she was about to head in an entirely different direction on an entirely different quest. There was no telling when she might actually return from the Northern reach of Skyrim to begin the journey to High Hrothgar.

Maybe the monks wouldn't care though?

They did live in seclusion inside a monestary at the top of a mountain. It's not like they had anything better to do than wait around for something interesting to happen anyway.

The following day

"Wake up ladies!" Quintessence called banging the hilt of a steel dagger against Lydia's shield. "We've got a long walk ahead of us so we might as well start early."

Both woman groaned and rolled over in their beds facing away from the woman. She shrugged figuring something like this woman happen. She prepared for it the very moment she began planning their trip yesterday.

She threw a bucket of hot, not scorching, but hot water on Lydia knowing that cold water wouldn't have really done much. The woman jumped up from under the animal furs with a start leveling Quintessence with a heated glare once she realized what just happened.

The Breton only smiled before turning to Morihatha and blasting her in her ass with a short torrent of frost. The Imperial let out a squeal of shock before sitting up and doing the same thing as Lydia once she put two and two together.

"Now that you two are up.." Quintessence said going inside her satchel and pulling out a bundle of animal furs she'd 'borrowed' from Belathar's general goods store last night.

She threw one towards Lydia and the other towards Morihatha.

"We'll be traveling to Winterhold today so you two are gonna need those if you want to stay warm. I'm already all packed up and ready to go but I have a bit of business to take care of before we leave. We set out in three hours." She said leaving the room knowing that was more than enough time for both woman to get themselves ready.

"I swear that woman can be a real pain in the ass sometimes." Lydia grumbled standing and gathering her things for the washroom.

"Trust me when I say you don't even know the half of it." Morihatha remarked before forcing herself off the bed to do the same.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Quintessence had awaken the two at the ass crack of dawn for a reason. It was 5:00am. The city was just now waking up and most of the shop keepers would be just waking up and getting themselves ready to open up for business three hours from now, which was just perfect for her. She exited the Bannered Mare and swiftly moved towards Belathar's general goods store.

One lock pick and she was in closing the door behind herself and sniffing the air as a way to locate her target.

Belathar was already up and on the move. Judging by the hint of soap and moisture in the air he was in the wash room which was even more perfect.

She summoned two Dremora and raised the coil she'd sewn into her robes letting her eyes do their thing. She didn't feel like negotiating with or bribing the shop keeper so she would just scare him shitless.

Her and her Dremora walked upstairs and she pointed to a closed door in which she could hear the sound of humming coming from. Her Dremora already had their orders so she had no worries. She lifted a hand a used telekinesis to push the door open allowing her Dremora to storm inside with no resistance.

She heard Belathar give a shrill cry of surprise and she couldn't help laughing at the man because he almost sounded like a woman. Before he had the chance to yell for help he was knocked over the head and all went silent.

Five minutes later

The shop owner felt water crashing into his face followed up by something slamming into his cheek leaving the right side of his face stinging.

"Wake up junky." A voice commanded causing him to open his eyes and grow fearful at what he saw.

Standing in front of him was a figure in dark robes with two penetrating crimson eyes he couldn't help but feel were currently burning a hole into his soul. Flanking the figure was two demonic looking creatures in sinister looking red and black armor. Both of them staring at him with eyes so black they seemed to absorb the rooms light.

"Do you know who I am?" The figure asked in a voice that was obviously feminine.

He frantically shook his head knowing this woman wasn't from the thieves guild judging by her armor.

"Good. You don't need to know at the moment. You know what I'm here for don't you?"

Once again the man shook his head far too afraid to speak at the moment. He was pretty sure he hadn't even blinked since the stranger slapped his face and commanded he open his eyes. He didn't know what was going on but he wanted desperately to call for his mother at the moment.

Had the old bag still been alive surely her ugly mug would have scared away these intruders.

"DO NOT! Play dumb with me Belathar." She hissed. "I'm certainly not here for any of these trashy little antics and nick nacks you try to pass off as treasures in the name of making a septum or two. What do you think I'm here for?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat having no idea what she could possibly be here for. He didn't have much money at the moment. Besides the usual commodities like ink wells, fures, quilts, and throw rugs, he did sell junk he attempted to pass off as something worth value. He didn't have anything he thought was actually worth breaking and entering and tying him to a chair for. Especially considering he was still dripping wet and naked.

"Y-You aren't here for my kidney are you?" He stammered nervously.

The woman's hand moved in a flash and Belathar nearly fainted as an iron dagger was planted in the chair he was tied to, right next to his left thigh and only an inch away from his manhood.

"Guess again junky."

 _"Junky? Junky... Why does she keep calling me a junky. I'm not addicted to any kind of-"_ He cut his own mental dialogue short as he pieced it together and finally realized what this woman was after.

"No you can't have it!" He shouted uncaring of the consequences.

That Skooma shipment was his. He didn't know how this woman had found out about it but pedaling illegal goods to the occasional adventure that wandered into his shop and the citzens of Whiterun that were a little better off than others was his lively hood.

"Oh really?" She cooed looking as if his answer pleased her. "Gag him." She commanded the Deadra who quickly followed through with her order, stuffing a roll of medical bandages into his mouth before taping it shut with some of his own duct tape.

"You two know what to do. I want to see him sweat." She said pulling up a chair and sitting down as the creatures began cracking their their knuckles and grinning evilly at the man.

One of the Deadra punched him in the stomach knocking all wind from his lungs and the other back handed him hard, knocking one of his teeth lose.

"Avoid the face if you can, and work him over slowly. He still needs to be able to talk before we're finished here."

The Deadra nodded it's head towards the woman before turning back to him with an evil smile while the other stood behind him making sure he couldn't move an inch.

"I honor my Lord. By hurting you!"

Five minutes later there was nothing more for Belathar to throw up and he began to feel as if he might just die if the Deadra punched him in his stomach again. His vision was hazy. His body hurt more than he could have ever imagined. He'd coughed up a fair amount of blood, not to mention vomited over himself throughout his ordeal, but he still wasn't quite ready to give in yet. This woman could have her creatures kill him for all he was concerned. He wasn't about to hand over his precious shipment of Skooma to anybody.

His head was down and his eyes were closed but he managed to crack one open when he heard the chair across from him creak as the woman stood up from it to move in front of him and hold her hand out to heal him of the damage he received in the last five minutes.

"You should make this easier on yourself." She said after she was done mending the last of the damage. "All I'm asking is your compliance in this." She added ripping the duct tape from his face.

"You think this will get me to talk? I was once an Imperial soldier and let me tell you...the torture I under went in those high elven prison camps wa-"

"I know." She interrupted." I saw your old Imperial armor upstairs when I broke in here last night. This isn't any kind of torture you're undergoing right now, just a little something to loosen your lips before the real torture begins."

Belathar paled slightly but didn't allow his fear to show on his face.

"Well then, let's get it over with! Do your worst! You still won't get what you want!"

"Oh but I always get what I want." She said holding her hand out summoning sparks to her finger tips.

Belathar went white as a ghost as he flashed back to his time in the prison camp. The Altmer particularly favoured this method of torture and the memory of just how painful it was remained ever fresh in his memory.

"You should stop being so stubborn. I don't want to torture you but I will if I don't get what I want."

"I already told you that that shipment is mine and there's no way I'll just give it to you, so do what ever it is you have to! I'm not scared of you."

"You're an admirable man junky, but who said I wanted your shipment for myself?"

"What?" Belathar remarked not quite understanding.

"This isn't a robbery it's extortion. I don't want your precious shipment. I just want you to agree to pay me a small fee for whatever illegal goods you manage to have smuggled into the city. I don't turn you into the Jarl, and you basically pay me for it."

"Your crazy if you think that I would agree to those terms! The Jarl wouldn't even likely believe you over me! The only leverage you have over me is torture and that isn't enough to get you what it is you want!"

"Oh but it is." She grinned deciding they would just be doing this the hard way.

"Gag him again."

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Quintessence exited the Imperial man's shop with her Dremora beside her. She immediately felt eyes on her as she did so and she cast a glance towards the two guards who were looking at her curiously, likely wondering why she was exiting the shop when it had yet to open.

After a few moments of the two just staring at her and her Deadra and her staring back a few unspoken words passed between them and the guards turned away as the message to mind their own business was clear. They in no way wanted to anger the dragon slaying Deadra summoner before them.

As Thane of the city they doubted she'd been doing anything they should be worried about in Belathar's shop anyway. If she was let that be some other guards problem. Their instincts were screaming at them to leave this woman alone and they listened to them like the seasoned warriors they were.

Later on that day the same guards would wonder why Belathar hadn't opened his shop. They would have no way of knowing that Imperial man had taken the day off to recover from the torture he suffered earlier.

In the end she'd gotten what she wanted just as she'd expected.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The city of Winterhold was more like a collection of broken buildings, snow and emptiness. Quintessence looked around and remarked to herself that this place might as well not even be named a city anymore. It wasn't even really a town.

It pretty much consisted of five unimpressive buildings that only served to give the place an air of sadness. Winterhold was once the capital of Skyrim yet this was what it was reduced to.

The Jarls palace wasn't even a palace of any sort but more like an oversized hutt someone threw together for the ruler of the town to reside in. The Inn wasn't even half the size of the Bannered Mare and just barely stacked up to the Drunken huntsman which only rented private rooms.

There was a general goods store as well and Quintessence told herself she'd avoid any unsavory encounters with the owner of this one seeing as lady Azura might have frowned upon her interaction with Belathar earlier.

Sitting beside the general store was a small house that was about half the size of the Jarls 'palace'. Truly this town was pathetic, not even worthy of being called a city.

The remaining building was a guard barracks. Quintessence doubted actually housed many guards. The cities overall population couldn't be any higher than twenty, so she doubted it's population of guards reached any higher. The Jarl likely couldn't afford anymore than a small handful of guards anyway.

"Wait where are you going?!" A woman was calling after a man who was walking away from her.

"To the Inn for a drink of course. Where else could I go in this God's forsaken town?"

"Oh really? You think that's going to solve all your problems?"

"Probably not. But it's worth it to try."

Quintessence snorted at the man's reply before he continued on his way towards the In across the road. The woman looked agitated but there was something else in her gaze Quintessence thought might be sympathy. She decided not to pry since she had things to do at the moment, but she was slightly curious about the woman since she was the first resident of Winterhold who wasn't a guard she came in contact with.

"Hello." She said making her presence known as she approached the woman.

"If you're looking for Ranmir he's at the Inn, soon to be passed out in bed..or on a bar stool."

"Oh no. I was just wondering if you owned that shop, and if so why setup business here of all places?"

"It wasn't by choice I can tell you that. Options were in short supply. Ranmir and I grew up here, and nearly any money I make he drinks away. Without the money to pack up and leave I took to trading."

"Why let the man drink away your money then?"

The woman looked conflicted for a moment before giving a long sigh that caused her shoulders to sag a bit.

"Ranmir is...troubled. It's the only thing he has to numb the pain and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I took that away from him."

"Oh." Quintessence replied wondering what exactly the man was troubled by. "But I know you know alcohol isn't any kind of cure for the problems life throws at a person. Why let him keep drowning his sorrow in med if it's only going to resurface when he wakes up the next day sober."

"Because temporary relief is better than none at all. I don't think Ranmir will be able to get over his problem as easily as you think. He really loved that girl."

"Oh so it's about a woman?"

"It's always about a woman with men isn't it?"

Quintessence had to agree with the woman on that one, so she gave a node of her head.

"Do you get much business up here?" She inquired figuring she knew the answer to that one.

"Very funny. I'm sure you've noticed that Winterhold isn't exactly overflowing with people, so I'll sell whatever I can. If it's worth putting a price on best believe I'll do it."

 _"Interesting."_

"You said something about a bad deal?"

The woman nodded her head. "Yea it was stupid of me. I shouldn't have believed the story and paid for this stupid thing. Now I'm stuck with this worthless junk."

"What was the story?"

"Some line about this claw thing in Ingels Barrow. He said it was worth it's weight in gold if I could take it back there and use it to find the treasure inside the barrow, but I don't know what I was thinking. Even if I could there's no way I'm risking my life chasing after some treasure that may or may not actually exist."

"Maybe I could take that item off you hands?" Quintessence said figuring it there was an opportunity for gold involved she was interested.

"I don't even care anymore. If you really want to check it out I'll sell you the thing for 50 gold, then it's your problem."

Quintessence went into her coin purse and pulled out the money and held out her hand giving it to the surprised shopkeep.

"Here you go. But just know if you get killed on account of this thing it's not my fault." She said pausing for a moment. "But if it actually does turn out to be worth something let me know will you?"

Quintessence nodded her head knowing there was a chance she probably wouldn't do that. She looked at the item she'd just paid for and marveled as she realized it was a claw similar to the golden claw, only this one seemed to be carved out of coral.

It was beautiful to behold, and she wondered where exactly it'd been carved since the cold waterways around Skyrim likely didn't posses any coral. It was simply too cold for such a sensitive organism to survive in the waters, unless it was some specialized bread of coral that grew to resist the cold. If so that'd likely actually endered it to the Nords.

She found the idea of such a thing to be interesting and she told herself that she would look into it later.

"Thanks for the claw." She said offering the woman a look of gratitude.

"Don't mention it. Thanks for taking it off my hands." She said turning and walking back inside her shop.

Quintessence placed the coral claw inside her satchel and grabbed one end of the wheel barrel they'd been using the haul their stuff up here with them, Morihatha already grasping the other side. They walked towards the bridge leading towards the college but found themselves stopped by a voice calling for them to halt at the foot of the bridge.

"Cross the bridge at your own peril. The way is dangerous and the gate will not open." An Altmer woman standing in the way said obviously attempting to deter them from entering the college.

Morihatha let out a low growl only audible to the Breton beside her. Quintessence wondered if it was because they were being stopped or if it was because of the woman's racial ethnicity.

"Why are you out here?" She questioned knowing the woman was likely freezing her pointy ears off.

The only reason she and her companions had yet to get cold on their journey was because of the furs they wore coupled with the natural resistance the three had to the cold. Lydia's resistance being the strongest of all of theirs as a Nord of course. The Altmer had no such resistance what so ever though, unless she was actually a vampire which Quintessence could tell she wasn't.

"I am here to assist those seeking the wisdom of the collage, and if my presence does something to deter those seeking to do it harm so be it." She said with a hint of warning to her voice before noticing Quintessa's robes. "The more important question is why are you here?"

"May I enter the college?" She inquired hoping the woman didn't see her as someone who might bring harm upon the place she was obviously out here to guard.

"Perhaps, but what is it you expect to find within?"

"Someone who I can buy soul gems from. Perhaps a few colleagues of which discuss magical theory with, and maybe a few scholar's with which to match wits and bounce ideas off of."

The woman nodded her head looking at Quintessence thoughtfully.

"It would seem that the college has what it is you seek, but the question now is what can you offer the college. Those who are allowed inside must show at least some skill in magic."

Quintessence smiled and raised two hands summoning two Dremora before duel casting a banish Deadra spell and sending them both back to Oblivion one after another. The mage standing before her looked completely flabbergasted before regaining her composer.

"I never expected a master of the conjuration school to wander up to the bridge and request entry. It happened once before, but it didn't end well." She said looking as if she was considering letting her in or not. "Very well. I think you will make a superb addition to the college, but what about those two. Are they mages as well?"

Quintessence prepared to shake her head no when Morihatha surprised her and Lydia by raising a hand and casting a oak flesh spell.

"I'm only a novice but I at least possess some aptitude for magic."

"That you do. And what about the Nord?" The woman said turning to Lydia who had to gather herself from the shock of seeing the Imperial use an alteration spell.

"I'll just wait for you guys at the Inn." She said turning and making her way back into the town.

The Altmer woman nodded and turned walking forward and beckoning that they follow and watch their step as they did. As they walked across the bridge the two were extra careful to watch their footing as well as where the wheel barrel rolled. They didn't want to lose their possessions but on the same token losing their lives would be even worse.

As they walked the Altmer woman cast magelight spells at the caldrons lining the bridge causing them to glow with magicka that reached upwards into the sky in the shape of a pillar of light. The bridge was a long one but it only took them around two minutes to cross and to the mutual satisfaction of both woman niether of them had fallen off the side of the bridge.

Upon reaching the gate it swung open almost as if the college was welcoming the new magic users it sensed approaching. The woman who escorted them turned to head back to her post and the two shared a look before walking through the gate about to go searching for a woman known as Mirabelle Ervine.

The Altmer woman said she held the position of master wizard and she could help them settle in and find whatever it was they sought.

Mirabelle was an Imperial name so Quintessence figured they should be on the look out for an Imperial, not that she expected to see any Nords here anyway. Possibly a few Bretons, but she doubted she'd see any natives of Skyrim in a place dedicated to the study of magic, which they so detested.

Beyond the college's gate and in front of the main building was a wide circle with a statue of a mage sitting in the middle, holding it's hands out over another of the magic caldrons that shot a pillar of blue light into the sky. Leading towards the statue was a stone walkway flanked on both sides by a snow covered garden that didn't look like it'd been tended to in the last hundred years.

All Quintessence could see growing out of the snow covered ground were useless weeds and snow berries. The entire courtyard was just one big circle surrounding the garden and on the outer most parts of the circle was a circular walkway with multiple high archways that stretched nearly to the top of the high college walls. She saw two doors on either side of this walkway and she figured those were likely for housing while the main building was for study and instruction.

Besides the constant cry of the wind Quintessence couldn't hear so much as a peep and she found the silence to be calming. She and Morihatha continued pass the statue intending to search for the college's master wizard inside the main building when the large set of mahogany double doors opened and out stepped a woman in hooded experts robes of conjuration Quintessence nearly found herself drooling over.

They were mostly dark blue with trimming the same shade of brown as her hair. They had a hood sewn in which was very unusual, but wasn't the only one thing that made them stand out from standard experts robes. The sash that was present on only novice, apprentice, and adept robes was present on hers. Her robes looked as if she'd taken bits and pieces of her previous robes and sewn them onto her current one.

Quintessence found them to be very stylish and she wondered if everyone here personalized their attire in such a way. Four lines of cloth hung from the sleeves and two from the upper areas of her legs, but Quintessence could tell this was on purpose and she wondered why. There had to be some kind of purpose behind it.

"You two are a pair of faces I haven't seen before." She said stopping in front of them before looking to Morihatha.

"You have the look of a warrior about you. It's fine if you don't actively study magic, but we don't allow those without an aptitude for it in the college."

"I'm capable of using the oak flesh spell." The Imperial replied not wishing to be separated from her lady.

"So you are a fledgling Sorceress then? Perhaps you could devote time to perfecting your skill in Alteration while you're here? Generally those who come to the college seek the knowledge of other schools. Alteration is the most under appreciated school of magic right next to Restoration. Yet it is one of the most widely studied and used schools same as restoration."

Morihatha looked unsure for a moment before replying she would try to learn something while here to which Mirabelle nodded.

"And you are?" The woman said turning to eye Quintessence curiously.

"A master summoner and illusionist." She answered causing the woman to smile at her appreciatively.

"Well it is an honor to have you both at the college. What is it exactly you're here for?" She inquired pegging the two as traveling companions and wondering exactly why they'd come to Winterhold.

Quintessence repeated what she'd told the Altmer woman earlier and Mirabelle nodded telling the woman that the college currently only housed two scholar's. Herself, and the Librarian known as Urag Gra-Shab. Soul gems we're apparently in abundance around the college though, and she could purchase them from any of the instructors she happened across while here.

"Would you two consider staying here while conducting your business, or did you already secure lodging within the towns Inn?" She inquired hoping they would stay.

The two looked at each other briefly before Quintessence remarked that she would be grateful if they were provided with lodging. She didn't know how long they would be here, but she knew she liked the atmosphere, and staying at the college would likely be better than staying at an Inn, not to mention more convenient.

"Excellent." Mirabelle smiled before suggesting they take a brief tour with her to familiarize themselves with the college grounds.

 **0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Morihatha finished changing into the apprentice robes of alteration the woman had provided her just as Quintessence finished doing the same with her adept robes of conjuration.

Mirabelle had remarked that should they want better robes they were free to purchase them from one of the college's instructors who also sold spells and a number of other magical items. Quintessence remarked that these would do for now though and attempted to express her gratitude by gifting the woman with the staff of lightning bolts she'd received from Balgruuf as a reward a short while ago.

Mirabelle while grateful for the offer turned down her generosity saying she was only doing her job by making them feel welcome. She also informed Morihatha that one of the college's instructing wizards was about to hold a class with a new batch of apprentices in the main building, and that she was welcome to join if she so pleased.

The two thanked the woman for her assistance to which she replied it was the least she could do, letting them know to seek her out should they need anymore assistance or have any questions they needed answered.

Quintessence looked around her new room slightly surprised that it seemed far better than what they'd been provided at the Bannered Mare, but then the luxury rooms had been upstairs and she and her companions had inhabited a room on the ground floor.

Morihatha was also just as surprised, but she seemed uncomfortable in her robes saying that they were too light and they made her feel vulnerable to which Quintessence gave an 'awww' and remarked that she was cute, causing the woman to flush slightly and turn away.

Their rooms were right next to each other's. Quintessence had been told that a test was necessary to test her mastery if she wished to be provided lodging within the hall of countenance where most master's slept. She'd replied that she was fine with a room next to her companion though, and much to the Imperial's delight her wish had been granted.

The rooms weren't very spacious but they were spacious enough to feel comfortable, and they were definitely cozzy. On the wall in front of the doorway leading to the open hall was an animal fur they could pull down whenever they felt the need for privacy. The two had unpacked quickly enough not really having much to unload.

Morihatha only had her steel armor and steel sword along with a few bottles of med while Quintessence had the staff she'd received from Balgruuf along with three other weapons, a few books, some jewels and an empty soul gem.

The Imperial opted to wear her steel boots and bracers along with her apprentice robes, and the Breton did the same, only she wore leather bracers and boots instead of steel. Much to her dismay Quintessence demanded she leave her sword inside her room.

She didn't think most of the mages who held any say so within the college would approve of none magical weapons considering Mirabelle had told her if she was going to be staying at the college she had to wear mages robes for the duration of her stay. So with much fustration the woman placed her sword next to the nightstand beside her bed and followed Quintessence out into the hall.

"I didn't know you actually planned on us staying here for a while?" She said as the two passed through the doors to the hall of attainment into the courtyard.

"I didn't but I figure it'll be convenient since we don't have to pay for our rooms, and I doubt I actually have the money to afford more than one or two grand soul gems at the moment. If we're lucky maybe the Jarl will have something for us to do that can earn us a decent amount of coin."

"Do you want me to go tell Lydia the situation has changed, or can it wait till we go into town?" The swords woman replied causing Quintessence to pause and look at her for a moment.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked hesitantly wondering what'd caused her lady to stop and look at her like that.

"Actually I'd like for you to go attend that lecture Mirabelle was talking about." The woman said unsurprised when her companions eyes grew wide as saucers and she stopped moving forward.

"You..you want me to attend a study session for junior mages?" Morihatha said feeling inadequate all of a sudden.

"Yes. Up until a few minutes ago I had no idea you knew any kind of magic and since I see you have an aptitude for it I think learning more would really be a benefit."

The Imperial didn't really know how to reply to being told she wasn't good enough, so she nodded her head weakly and began walking towards the main building. Quintessence took notice of the immediate plummet in the woman's mood and took three quick strides to catch up with her.

"Empress."

"Hmm?" The woman questioned stopping to see what the other woman wanted.

"Don't ever think you're not good enough."

Morihatha's face heated slightly and she looked away embarrassed at having been seen through so easily. Quintessence grinned at the woman's slightly flustered demeanor and cupped her left cheek before leaning forward and placing a kiss at the side of her lips just as she'd done back in Whiterun days ago. As she pulled away Morihatha subconsciously nipped at the bottom of her lip earning herself a grin as Quintessence hadn't been expecting that.

"You desire to please is really cute." She said leaning close so she could whisper her next sentence directly into the woman's ear. "And I like how nipped at my lip when I pulled away from you. It really turned me on." She said pulling back away with a playful gleam that bordered on mischievous in her eyes.

Again Morihatha didn't know how to react to the woman so she just stared at her a bit surprised with what she'd done when the mage pulled away.

Quintessence smiled at her confused expression. She looked almost as cute as Alduin at the moment. Almost..

She took the woman's wrist and began leading her towards the building they would have reached moments ago had they not stopped twice on the short treck there from the hall of attainment. Morihatha allowed herself to be pulled along wishing somewhere in the back of her mind that the kiss had lasted longer.

 **I planned on making that chapter longer, but due to a series of unfortunate events it was in my favour to upload it now. I don't really have the time to spell check either so I hope it was actually readable.**


	11. First Lessons-Part 2

**I made this chapter pretty short because I wanted to upload quicker than I would usually. This and the chapter before it are just our introduction to the college of Winterhold anyway. For the most part I covered introductions in the the last chapter so it makes sense that this one isn't really be lengthy chapters.**

 _Learning magic can be fun_

 **5K Words**

Upon stepping inside the college's main building Morihatha and Quintessence we're meant with a sight that not only surprised but shocked the both of them.

"I believe I've made myself rather clear." Mirabelle said to an Altmer who wore the robes of a Thalmor justicare.

Morihatha froze and her eyes immediately darkened at the sight of the man. Quintessence could smell the faint sense of blood. Morihatha was actually biting her lip to the point of her incisors actually piercing them.

"Yes, but I am simply trying to understand the reasoning behind the decision." The Altmer replied in a voice that did little to mask his irritation.

"While I'm sure you're used to your group receiving special privileges you'll find yourself receiving no such treatment here. You are a guest of the college here at the pleasure of the Archmage. I hope you appreciate the opportunity."

"Yes of course. The Archmage has my thanks." The mer reluctantly spat just barely restraining himself from glaring daggers towards the bothersome woman.

"Very good. Then we're done." Mirabelle remarked completely unperturbed by the Altmer's attitude.

The college's master wizard proceeded to walk past him up the set of stairs on the left and with a grunt of either displeasure or disdain he ascended the set of stairs to the right. Quintessence found her curiousity getting the better of her. She knew without a doubt that once Morihatha's ride in temper was seen to she would be following the Thalmor.

She turned back to Morihatha who's eyes were just returning to their usual hazel. The woman was visibly upset but she didn't seem to be on the verge of snapping at least.

"Have you always hated Altmer or is this little development a recent one?" The Breton inquired genuinely curious.

Morihatha shook her head no before exhaling deeply.

"I've always hated anyone I deemed partially responsible for the death's of my parents same as with my grandparents. I've always hated Altmer. But it's only gotten worse since you explained to me how bandits couldn't have been behind my parents deaths."

"I see." The Breton wondered if she'd done a good thing or a bad thing by lending her opinion. "Anyway, are you ready for your first lessons Empress?"

Morihatha sighed looking as if she'd rather say no but she nodded her head weakly. "As ready as I'll ever be I suppose."

"Excellent. Good luck on your first day of school." Quintessence said giving the Imperial a kiss on the cheek before quickly taking off up the steps in the direction of the Thalmor.

Morihatha placed a hand to her cheek and narrowed her eyes slightly as she wondered why her lady had begun doing stuff like that recently. Was she still trying to get her to choose something for herself? Was she just toying with her or was the woman truly attracted to her in someway and that was how she showed it?"

Making away with the confusing thoughts she walked forward into the large circular chamber where she could hear the voice of what she assumed to be other apprentices getting to know one another.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

Upon reaching the top of the winding stair case Quintessence found herself in a rather impressive library she was surprised to see was mostly empty. If she was a regular resident of the college she figured this was likely where she would spend most of her time.

She walked into the large circular chamber and inhaled deeply delighting in the smell of so many pieces of parchment and paper all in one area. She took a moment to savior it all before walking towards the Altmer who looked more than a bit upset as he surveyed the book shelves.

"Hello." She greeted coming to stand beside the newest object of her interest.

"Another new apprentice I see." He drawled out looking at her with the smallest bit of curiosity, and a fine bit of annoyance.

"Are you of the sort who believes you're here to change the world..or are you simply in it for yourself?"

Quintessence wondered if he'd asked her the question out of true interest or just as a way to find something to shoot her down for regardless of which option she so happened to choose.

It was easier to say she was in it for herself since she wouldn't know the first thing about changing the world and nor did she have any desire to. She couldn't really say she was here for herself though. In a way she was here to save the world but she doubted telling the Altmer that would result in anything but a few laughs at her expensive.

"I'm here to ask questions." She answered smirking lightly as the man's brows pulled together.

"Is that supposed to be some kind of a joke? You are aware the only reason your kind still continues to draw breath is because the Thalmor allow it. I would watch my tongue if I were you mage."

Quintessence snorted in derision to the mer's haughty reply.

"You look at me and all you see is a human. I look at you and I see an Altmer in place of just a mer. You and your kind believe yourself so superior, but the only races of man you have an easy time discerning from others are Redguard's and Nords. Other than that your kind is generally lost as to what anyone is."

The Altmer's glower morphed into a frown.

"And why exactly would we need to discern one of your races from the other? At the end of the day you are all little more than animals." The Aldmeri agent said grateful that the Archmage at least was a Dunmer.

Filthy low borns were at least better than the worthless races of man.

"Because same as Mer kind the races of men all have different things that aren't just limited to physical appearance that make us different from others."

The justicare raised an eyebrow curious as to what the woman could possibly say in retaliation to his previous statement.

"Go on." He pressed wishing her to state her opinion so that he might do away with her clouded perception.

"No." The college initiate answered surprising the mer not for the first time.

"I don't have any need to make known to you the strengths and weaknesses of the races of man but I will be so kind as to enlighten you on your own races perks and short comings."

"Oh do go on." He spoke, his voice and body laughing dripping sarcasm to the point the breton watched his face for a role of the eyes which she'd almost been sure would appear.

The man clearly wondered what this woman thought she could possibly teach him about his race and she happily opened her mouth to tell him.

"The reason your kind generally thinks you're born better than others is because you're born with more magic than others so naturally magic comes easier to you. Every other race is born with something specific to them also however. Everyone is equal to everyone and the Altmer who think themselves above everyone else are fools for thinking otherwise."

"Everyone is born special not just you assholes."

The Thalmor looked indignat at her closing statement and he opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off clearly not yet done.

"That glaring weakness of your kind however is your over confidence. That arrogance most Altmer walk around with that allows them to hold their nose up at the world and look down on everyone else like you don't walk the same ground and breath the same air we do will eventually prove to be the dominions downfall."

The mer at a lose for words simply glared at the woman in disbelief. Altmer weren't arrogant without reason. By birth they all had right to be so! The fact that they were born with more magicka than the other races only made them more superior than he'd originally imagined and this woman was delusional if she thought otherwise.

He sneered at her uninformed opinion and prepared to launch into a tirade explaining to her just how wrong she was till she spoke cutting him off yet again.

"What?" He questioned having missed her words as he was thinking.

"I said what exactly is a Thalmor agent doing at the college of Winterhold anyway? Surely you aren't here for the glorious weather and the sandy beaches."

The man's scowl returned at the woman's sarcasm. This Nord, Imperial, Breton, or whatever she was seemed to be good at grating on his nerves. Then again all humans were capable of doing that with their presence, so he didn't credit her too much with being any different from the rest of her detestable race.

"Why I am here is none of your concern. Why is it you wish to know anyway?" He asked growing suspicious of the woman.

She shrugged her shoulders as if she had no real reason behind asking. "Like I said, I'm just here to ask questions." She remarked attempting to keep the smile from her face.

The Altmer's eyes narrowed as he realized she was deriving enjoyment from pestering him.

"I suggest you keep questions related to my work to yourself. Curiousity did kill the Sabre cat after all." He said in a low tone that ensured his threat wasn't missed.

"And satisfaction freed it's soul in the end. Why don't you free my soul Altmer?" The Breton said stepping forward to regard the mer with a sultry grin as she placed one hand tentatively on his chest. "Why exactly do your superiors want you here?" She asked in a voice that may have dropped an octave or two lower than what she'd spoken in previously.

The Altmer felt his blood rush as the woman's touch sent a shiver down his back and her proximity brought rise to impure thoughts within his head. He quickly stepped away almost as if the woman had burned him, feeling disgusted with himself when he realized he wasn't utterly disgusted by her advance.

"How- how dare you resort to such crude methods of persuasion with me woman!" The now furious mer spat obviously seething. "A highborn such as myself would never seek to consort with filth such as yourself! The very idea of-!"

"Your cheeks are flushing slightly Altmer." Quintessence cooed cutting the man's tirade short.

His eyes narrowed even further than they had before and he looked at Quintessence with all the loathing and murderous intent in the world.

"You will speak to no one of what happened here! Am I clear?" He growled only growing more inflamed when the woman began laughing.

"I'm the one who's here to ask questions. You wouldn't happen to like me so much you're trying to take my job would you?"

The Altmer felt himself fill with such rage he couldn't help but summon a bolt of lightning in his hands a unleash it in the woman's direction.

Quintessence didn't so much as flinch as the bolt flew past her and slammed into the wall behind her. The Altmer's eyes narrowed again as she stood there still smirking at him as if she thought herself superior.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning flew past his head and he turned seeing the college's Osmer Librarian shooting him a viscous look of warning that promised pain should he damage any of the college's reading material.

He turned back to the woman finding her still grinning that irritating smirk of hers.

"A warning shot." He hissed turning to walk away when he was stopped in his tracks by yet another question.

"Didn't I just say-"

"I asked what is it YOU do here, not what the dominion sent you here to do. Consider answering this question a form of payback for me keeping my mouth silent about how this Thalmor agent at the college of Winterhold surely has the hots for the Breton mage with the silver togue and the golden eyes." She interrupted grinning as the man's face contorted into yet another canvas of barely controlled rage.

He took a few seconds to calm himself realizing this woman was only getting a kick out of seeing him riled up. It would do him no good explaining to his superiors he'd failed in his mission because he couldn't help but incinerate some bothersome mage who wouldn't leave him alone.

"I am here to act as an advisor to the Archmage. The Thalmor wish to promote relations with your college and I am at the archmage's disposal if he requires advice." He said pleased with himself for speaking calmly even if he was still aggravated with the woman before him.

"Does the Archmage often ask for advice?" The Breton asked curious about the college's leader.

"Perhaps not as often as he should. In time I believe he will be more trusting."

She nodded her head and proceeded past him figuring she'd gotten her fill of fun and learned all that he was willing to share at the moment.

In spite of himself the mer turned to watch the woman walk away mentally remarking that as far as humans went she wasn't all that bad to look at. Suddenly though she turned back around and shot him a knowing grin before asking what his name was just for future reference.

"Ancano." He answered unsure of why exactly he told her when there had really been no need for him to do so.

"Well I'll be seeing you around, Ancano." She called in a teasing manner turning to walk back towards the librarian.

Ancano felt the rage he'd just buried quickly climb to the surface again. This woman was toying with him. Despite himself and knowing it was disgusting he couldn't lie to himself by saying he wasn't attracted to the woman. She knew this and not only had she tried to use it to her advantage, but she was using it for entertainment as well.

He swore to himself that the very first chance he got he would make the woman pay dearly for her arrogance.

Quintessence walked towards the librarian still grinning at how easy it'd been to get under the Altmer's skin. She hadn't even had to use a charm, he'd simply been taken with her beauty the moment she laid a hand on his chest and sent him a suggestive smile. Divines men were so easy to manipulate at times. For all that talk about being so superior the Altmer had practically been puddy in her hands, as most men were when one applied the right touch.

She was sure if she actually wanted to seduce him he'd quickly throw all those convictions about never consorting with what he saw to be as trash out the window, same as most Altmer would if she was the one doing the seducing. Being an asshole with a superiority complex made you no more immune to the baser instincts than everyone else and she took great pleasure in showing the Thalmor agent that at the end of the day he was just like everyone else.

No doubt he had it out for her now so she would need to be watchful around him. At least while she wasn't around Morihatha. No doubt the Imperial woman wouldn't so much as take her eyes off the man as long as they resided in the same room.

She stopped in front of the librarian who looked at her dryly almost as if uninterested before giving a heavy sigh and turning his detached gaze steely.

"You are now in the Arcanium of which I am in charge. You might as well consider it my own little plan of Oblivion. Disrupt my Arcanium and I will have you torn apart by angry Atronach's!" The man growled with a fire behind his gaze before it went back to it's usual detached but steely quality. "Now..do you require assistance?"

Quintessa's grin became cherubic at the man's threat. Someone who took books as seriously if not more so than she did was a rare find indeed. She didn't doubt he'd follow through with his threat either and for that she found she liked this man already.

"Weird finding an Osmer heading a library in a college full of mages, or any library for that matter. What's your back story?"

The man lifted his head slightly regarding Quintessence fully. No one asked an Orc questions of a sensitive nature and what shocked him more was how she'd done it so blunty. Regardless of how many different types of people came to the college over the years no one save this woman had the guts to ask him that. That could only mean she was very brave, very foolish, or possibly a tad bit crazy.

Urag could see a small glimmer of barely caged insanity shinning in the back of the woman's strange golden iris's. She was likely the type of person who's mind was a perfect split between totally insane and perfectly healthy.

He felt somewhat endered to the grinning woman in front of him.

Back in his younger days Urag had been more than a bit of a wack job himself. He allowed a grin to overtake his features as he decided he'd humor the woman. He had a feeling with her around things at the college might begin to grow a bit interesting.

"I was raised in a stronghold just outside of Skyrim, born to our strongholds shaman and much to the distaste of my brothers I took after her more than anyone would have liked to imagine. I always preferred magic over steel and iron. While my brothers would spend everyday training with their weapons and attempting to best each other in combat I would sit by my mother's alchemy table and read."

"One day our tribes leader, my father, flew into a fit of rage at my refusal to do battle with my brothers. He blamed my mother for baring him a weak son and banished her from our tribe while forbidding me to follow. With my mother gone and no one to teach me anymore magic than I already knew I eventually fell into the habit of fighting with my brothers seeing as I had nothing else to do."

"Two years later I was out of a hunting trip with my kin and I returned to the stronghold to be faced with a sight I will never forget." The man snarled as his eyes looked far away into the distance for a moment reliving memories of a long burried past.

"Laying in the middle of our camp in a pool of her own blood was the mother who I hadn't seen in years but dreamed about seeing again nearly every night. She'd come back for me after all that time passed, but the punishment for an Orc who returns to the stronghold after banishment is death, and my father dealt out punishment."

Quintessa's grin had long since faded as she'd come to realize halfway through that the man's tale wasn't a happy one.

"So what happened then? How did you end up in Skyrim and stumble upon the college of all places?"

"Well...it didn't take me long to realize what happened and when I did I flew into a rage. I slaughtered my father alongside my brothers on that day with nothing but the magic they condemned and saw me as weak for. My mother was already dead and I had no desire to become the strongholds new chieftain so I left and wandered around somehow finding my way to Skyrim."

"I ran with a small bandit crew for a few years until we ambushed the wrong mage once. The guy summoned a pair of Atronach's I'd never seen before and began blasting us apart with lightning spells. Eventually there was just me and him left and he surprised me by saying it would be a shame to kill such a talented young mage. That man was the Archmage before the current one, Savos Aren."

"He offered me the chance to join the college telling me I could be so much more than what I currently was. Seeing as I had nothing better to do I accepted and followed him here. I became the Librarians assistant a short while afterwards seeing as the incident in which my father burned all of my mother's books left me with a deep hatred for anyone who disrespected literature. When the man passed I was named librarian and the rest is history."

Quintessence whistled appreciatively. "Quite the story my friend."

"It's not one I go sharing often. So don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I take it underneath that rough and steely exterior of yours you're just a big softy though huh?"

Urags head reared back as his laughter cut through the silence at the other end of the Arcanium.

"How's about you ask my dead siblings and all the innocent people I killed as a bandit that question and get back to me."

Quintessence grinned alongside the Osmer deciding he'd likely be her favorite person here.

"Well I would ask them but I'm not really fixing to die any time soon. I'll just have to take your word for it."

Urag chuckled lowly before adopting his usual gaze of calm detachment, only it didn't hold steel this time, it was something of a gaze one would spare for a friend.

"So..what can I help you with? You come here looking for a specific piece of literature, or were you just familiarizing yourself with the college?"

"Just familiarizing myself with the college and the people in it. There wouldn't happen to be any college business I could assist with would there?" The mage inquired hoping to get on the librarians good side seeing as there were likely certain research materials within the college restricted to a certain few.

Urag looked surprised at this causing Quintessence to wonder how often others who attended the college offered the man any assistance.

"If you're feeling adventurous I'm always looking for someone who can procure valuable books from some more..dangerous locations."

"I'm ready for some adventure." She grinned hoping that whenever this little quest took her there would be gold involved.

"Well alright, here. I scribble down the last place I heard about. Check it out but be careful."

"Will do." She replied still grinning as she took the paper and began making her way towards the Arcaniums exit.

She still had instructors she needed to speak with about soul gems.

0o0o0o0o0o

"Hello." The Breton greeted stopping a middle aged Dunmer with white hair who appeared to be startled for some reason.

"You- you can see me?" The mer inquired confusing Quintessence who wondered why she shouldn't be able to.

"Well of course I can, I did just address you after all."

The man raised a hand to his chin and adopted a thinking pose seeming to momentarily forget she was right there. Quintessence raised an eyebrow at his peculiar behavior.

"Confound it all! I was quite sure I was invisible..or at least transparent."

Quintessence stiffled a chuckle raising another eyebrow.

The man wore a pair of Savant robes of illusion. Savant robes were the only kind of magical garment other than the robes of an archmage superior to master's robes. Savant robes were very rare considering only the greatest of master's in a craft had the right to wear them.

A master illusionist who earned the right to be called savant struggling to cast a simple invisibility spell. Quintessence didn't know if she should be highly amused or slightly offended.

"You're the master illusionist here correct? Drevis Neloren?"

"Ahh, yes! Please don't let my lack of skill with the invisibility spell fool you. It's one I've struggled with for years now."

"Mhm," Quintessence nodded her head not really caring. "So you sell soul gems?"

"Indeed! I sell a lot of things that might be of use to an aspiring mage such as yourself, but I see you're wearing summoners robes. I'm afraid that if it's your skill in conjuration you seek to advance Phinis Gestor is the mage you wish to speak with."

"No, I'm not here to advance in anything. I just wish to purchase a grand soul gem if I can afford it."

"Oh." The dark elf said turning to a trunk beside his best post and unlocking it. "I currently have one full grand soul gem and two empty one's."

"How much will the empty one's cost?"

"592 Septums." The mer answered.

Quintessence began laughing at the outrageous price. She had enough gold on her person to purchase only one but she figured she might as well wait until she had enough to at least purchase five so she could craft a whole set of armor.

"I'm gonna have to get back to you on that later. Do you and the other instructors have grand soul gems often?"

"We get a new shipment just about every week and we keep enough of them stocked around the college to replenish our supply on a daily basis if need be."

"Excellent." The Breton remarked thanking Drevis for him time and wishing him luck with his invisibility spell.

The man seemed nice enough and she hadn't expected that from one of the instructors here. She'd pretty much thought they'd all carry that same air of detachment as Urag and the Altmer on the bridge.

She began making her way through the hall of countenance when a balding man who looked to be of mixed heritage passed her in the hall and Drew her attention. His Savant conjures robes was a dead give away to who he was, the college's instructor on conjuration.

"Hello and welcome to the college mage. I do hope you will enjoy your stay."

Quintessence nodded appreciatively of the man's greeting before his eyes landed on her robes and flashed with realization as the rest of his features changed to give off the expression of someone who was pleased.

"Should you require assistance with summoning techniques please let me know. I would also like to ask that you keep your summons limited to the college grounds. The locals don't need to be antagonized any further by Atronach's roaming their town."

Quintessence snorted. "What locals? The five to ten people that call Winterhold home?"

The man smiled a bit before he continued.

"The summoning of undead is even less advisable away from the college."

"Summoning undead isn't frowned upon here?"

"By sure no. Those arkaic policies died out with the mages guild and we're never enforced here. Necromancy as any other form of magic is a tool to be used. Of course some none magic users may not see it that way, so we don't go around flaunting it."

"I see..I think like the way the college thinks."

The man mimicked her smile as he'd thought the same thing upon attending his first lesson on conjuration and necromancy at the college years ago.

 **0o0o0o0o0o**

"Soo..how was your first lesson Empress?" Quintessence inquired when the woman she'd been waiting for finally came walking from the main building with a handful of other apprentices.

"It was great! I learned how to use wards and our teacher says we're about to go on some kind of field trip the the ruins of some ancient Nordic city close by!" Morihatha said sounding more excited that Quintessence could recall her being about anything besides waking up as a vampire.

"Does learning magic appeal to you?"

Morihatha's excited look became one of consideration as she took a moment to think about it.

"I don't really know, but I know I liked learning how to use a ward."

"Well I'll help you with some more restoration spells later if you'd like."

"I'd love that!" Morihatha said practically glowing with excitement.

"Excellent! But first we should go explore this ruin or whatever it is with your group."

"You're coming with us?" The Imperial asked a bit surprised.

"Of course! I'd never miss the opportunity to do something as exciting as this. It could be really interesting and maybe even fun."

"Oh." Morihatha replied glad she didn't have to worry about her lady disappearing on some quest while she was gone. "Well then we should be quick and catch up with the others."

"Lead the way Empress." Quintessence said with a wave of her hand.

Morihatha's smile grew into a grin and she took off in a slow jog Quintessence had no problem keeping up with.

She wasn't capable of purchasing anymore than one soul gem at the moment but at least one of her companions was showing an interest in magic, and it was restoration magic at that. Wards would be excellent when it came to reducing any damage one might receive from dragon fire and healing spells could always be one's best friend.

If she could get Lydia interested in studying one of the schools of magic all the more power to their party. As she thought about it destruction spells might just be right up the Nordic woman's alley.

 **Next chapter: Under Saarthal**


End file.
